Edward Herbert (attorney-general)

For other people with the same name, see Edward Herbert (disambiguation).

Arms of Herbert: Per pale azure and gules, three lions rampant argent

Sir Edward Herbert (c. 1591–1658) of Aston in Montgomeryshire, was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1641. He was Attorney-General under King Charles I.

## Origins[edit]

Herbert was the son of Charles Herbert of Aston, Montgomeryshire, and was a first cousin of Edward Herbert, Baron Herbert of Cherbury. His grandfather was Sir Edward Herbert (d. 1593) (great-nephew of William Herbert, 1st Earl of Pembroke (1423–1469)), Constable of Aberystwith Castle (16 March 1543–4), High Sheriff of Montgomeryshire in 1557 and 1568, a member of parliament for Montgomeryshire in 1553 and 1556–57, and an Esquire of the Body to Queen Elizabeth I.[1]

## Career[edit]

He was admitted to the Inner Temple in November 1609 and was called to the bar in 1618. In 1621 he was elected a member of parliament for Montgomery. He was elected MP for Downton, Wiltshire in 1624 for the Happy Parliament and was re-elected in 1626 and 1629.

In April 1640 Herbert was elected MP for Reading and for Old Sarum and chose to sit for Old Sarum in the Short Parliament. He was re-elected MP for Old Sarum in November 1640 for the Long Parliament. Having been appointed Attorney-General he was instructed by King Charles I to take legal proceedings against various members of parliament who had been concerned in the passing of the Grand Remonstrance. The only result, however, was Herbert's own impeachment by the House of Commons in 1641 and his imprisonment.[2]

Later in life he lived in exile with the royal family in Holland and in France, becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal to King Charles II in April 1653, an office which he had refused in 1645. He resigned that office the next year. He died in Paris in January 1658, and was buried in the Huguenot Saint-Germain Cemetery.[3]

## Marriage and progeny[edit]

Herbert married Margaret Smith, widow of Thomas Carey of Sunninghill Park, Berkshire and daughter of Thomas Smith of Abingdon-on-Thames and Parson's Green, Middlesex. Herbert's sons included:

* Arthur Herbert, 1st Earl of Torrington (1648–1716);
* Sir Edward Herbert (c. 1648–1698).

## References[edit]

1. ^ Dictionary of National Biography, 1885–1900, Volume 26, Herbert, Edward (1583–1648) by Sidney Lee [1]
2. ^ He was impeached for “advising, contriving, and publishing certain false, scandalous, and malicious Articles of High Treason against” John Pym, John Hampden, and others. See Proceedings against Sir Edward Herbert, knt. the King's Attorney General, upon an Impeachment for High Crimes and Misdemeanors, 4 Howell State Trials 119. He was convicted after trial in Lords and sentenced to: “1. That the said sir Edward Herbert, his majesty's Attorney-General, is, by Sentence of this house, disabled, and made incapable of being a Member-assistant, or pleader, in either House of Parliament, and of all offices, saving that of Attorney-General, which he now holds. 2. That Mr. Attorney-General shall be forthwith committed to the prison of the Fleet during the pleasure of this house.” At 130.
3. ^ "Volume 179: January 1658 Pages 253-279 Calendar of State Papers Domestic: Interregnum, 1657-8". British History Online. HMSO 1884. Retrieved 26 June 2023.

* "Herbert, Edward (1591?-1657)" . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.

Parliament of England

Preceded by

Sir John Danvers

|  Member of Parliament for Montgomery
1621–1622  | Succeeded by

George Herbert

Preceded by

Sir Clipsby Crew
Sir William Dodington

|  Member of Parliament for Downton
1625–1629
With:  Sir Clipsby Crew 1625
Sir William Tremhall 1626
Sir Benjamin Rudyerd 1628–1629  | Parliament suspended until 1640
Vacant

Parliament suspended since 1629

|  Member of Parliament for Reading
1640
With:  Sir John Berkeley | Succeeded by

Francis Knollys III
Adm. Francis Knollys

Vacant

Parliament suspended since 1629

|  Member of Parliament for Old Sarum
1640–1641
With:  Sir William Howard 1640
Hon. Robert Cecil 1640–1641  | Succeeded by

Hon. Robert Cecil
Sir William Savile

Legal offices
Preceded by

Sir Edward Littleton

|  Solicitor General
1640–1641  | Succeeded by

Oliver St John

Preceded by

Sir John Bankes

|  Attorney General
1641–1645  | Succeeded by

Thomas Gardiner (Royal)
Oliver St John (Parliamentary)

Preceded by

Thomas Gardiner

|  Attorney General (to the Royal Court in exile)
1649–1653  | Post vacant until restoration
Vacant

Title last held by

Sir Richard Lane |  Lord Keeper of the Great Seal
1653–1654  | Vacant

Title next held by

Sir Edward Hyde

Authority control databases

International|

* FAST
* VIAF

National|

* United States