Sir John Croke

Sir John Croke (1553 – 23 January 1620) was Speaker of the English House of Commons between October–December 1601. He was a lawyer and judge by profession, and was Recorder of London. Croke won the City of London constituency in his election to the 1601 parliament, and was the last Speaker before the death of Elizabeth I, in 1603.

Croke spent the early part of his career as a lawyer. He entered the Inner Temple in 1570, and received a call to the bar shortly after, becoming a "distinguished member". He was rewarded for his service as a lawyer with a silver gilt from the Lord Chancellor, Sir Christopher Hatton (d. 1591). Upon his father's death in 1584, he was deeded the Chilton manor house his grandfather had built, and Studley Priory, which he had purchased. Croke built his own manor house at Studley, though he moved his family to Chilton after his father's death.

Croke sat in the Windsor constituency in 1585, and was first elected for the City of London in 1597. He was made Lent Reader of the Inner Temple in 1596. He became Treasurer in 1598, and was subsequently appointed Recorder. Croke, in an era when intimidation of counsel was frequent, was noted for his 'discretion' in court. In 1602, Croke was involved in a divisive witchcraft case of the era, in which he performed a series of a tests on the 14-year-old accuser, Mary Glover, and the defendant, Elizabeth Jackson; he came to the conclusion that Glover was bewitched after witnessing her reaction to a disguised Jackson, and her unresponsiveness to heat, which left visible burns. The evidence obtained was used in trial, though Sir Edmund Anderson was principal judge; Jackson was convicted to one year's imprisonment, but was released early.

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