CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN ENGLISH LEGAL HISTORY Edited by D. E. C.YALE Fellow of Christ's College and Reader in English Legal History at the University of Cambridge WILLIAM SHEPPARD, CROMWELL'S LAW REFORMER William Sheppard is best known as one of the most prolific legal authors of the seventeenth century. His twenty-two books on the law include studies of conveyancing, actions on the case, tithe collection, several guides for local law enforcement and the first three legal encyclopedias to be written in the English language. His most interesting book, England's Balme, contains the most comprehensive set of law reform proposals published in that century. This study presents the first full account of Sheppard's employment under Oliver Cromwell's Protectorate as well as an examination of his family background and education, his religious commitment to John Owen's party of Independents and his legal philosophy. An appraisal of all Sheppard's legal works, including those written during the civil war and the restoration period, illustrates the overlapping concerns with law reform, religion and politics in his generation. Sheppard had impressively consistent goals for the reform of English law and his prescient proposals anticipate the reforms ultimately adopted in the nineteenth century, culminating in the Judicature Acts of 1875—8. Dr Matthews examines the relative importance of Sheppard's books to his generation and to legal literature in general, assessing such bibliographical problems as the allegation that Justice Dodderidge was the original author of the Touchstone of Common Assurances. The study provides a full bibliography of Sheppard's legal and religious works and an appendix of the sources Sheppard used in the composition of his books on the law. Nancy L. Matthews has been a Lecturer at University of Maryland and George Mason University and is now employed by the Smithsonian Institution Libraries, Washington, D.C. WILLIAM SHEPPARD, CROMWELL'S LAW REFORMER NANCY L. MATTHEWS The right of the University of Cambridge to print and sell all manner of books was granted by Henry VIII in 1534. The University has printed and published continuously since 1584. CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS CAMBRIDGE LONDON NEW YORK NEW ROCHELLE MELBOURNE SYDNEY PUBLISHED BYTHE PRESS SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th Street, New York NY 10011-4211, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia Ruiz de Alarcon 13,28014 Madrid, Spain Dock House, The Waterfront, Cape Town 8001, South Africa http ://www. cambridge.org © Cambridge University Press 1984 This book is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press. First published 1984 First paperback edition 2004 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress catalogue card number: 84-5832 ISBN 0 521 26483 9 hardback ISBN 0 521 89091 8 paperback CONTENTS Preface page vii Notes on Style and on Bibliography ix Abbreviations x Introduction 1 1 Biography 5 2 Early Legal Works, 1641-1654 72 3 The Protectorate Period, 1654-1659 103 4 England's balme Sheppard's model for reform 145 Law reform in the parliament of 1656 186 5 Later Contributions to Legal Literature, 1660-1674 231 6 Conclusion 264 Bibliographical Comment 273 Chronological Bibliography of Sheppard's Books 278 Sheppard's Sources 286 Index 295 [...]... sent legal encyclopedias into print on three separate occasions, all written in English and introducing a format that included legal definitions, summaries of statute law and short treatises on both common-law and chancery practice His career as a writer and compiler spanned more than half a century, beginning during his student days in the time of James I and continuing until his death in 1674, well into... and the surviving dissenting brethren (Burroughs had died in 1646) came to represent the right-wing, or conservative branch of the movement with their insistence upon maintaining Calvinist orthodoxy and suppressing heresy Others who called themselves Independents, particularly radical sectarians in the army, favored complete toleration I wish to thank Dewey D Wallace, Jr, for the helpful information... Gloucestershire (Hereford, 1898) W R Williams, The history of the great sessions in Wales 1542-1830 (Brecknock, 1899) P Winfield, The chief sources of English legal history (Cambridge, Mass., 1925) D G Wing, ed., Short-title catalogue of books printed in England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and British America and of English books printed in other countries 1641—1700, 2nd edn, I (New York, 1972); 1st edn, II—III... lodgings for the eleven years Sheppard kept chambers there and later became partners in property ventures During the civil war both Sheppard and Hussey served as active members of parliament's committees in their respective counties and many years later their paths crossed again in the law courts of Westminster 13 During Sheppard's years of training in the 1620s he and his fellow students at the inns... gain a better understanding of legal principles or to publicize what was known of the settled law More practically, it could involve an effort to facilitate a greater efficiency in the administration of justice A particular interest in law reform had developed by the turn of the seventeenth century because the manner in which the law had been evolving had created serious impediments to swift, certain... Gloucestershire, following his profession and attending to the management of his estate Philip Sheppard's decision to educate his heir in the law may have been made partly for reasons of economic necessity In that litigious age it was an incalculable benefit to have a trained barrister to assist, as William was to do, in the management of family business ventures The legal profession had been growing in numbers... John born in 1618 and Mary in 1620, and the evidence indicates that his first wife died at Mary's birth or shortly thereafter.10 In November 1620, when his daughter was only six months old, Sheppard left his young family behind in the Cotswolds and set off for London to begin his legal education Sheppard entered the Middle Temple, the inn selected by almost half the Gloucestershire men seeking a legal. .. committees all were raising questions about the state of the law and of law enforcement, initiating official enquiries into possible avenues of resolution for several perceived problems In 1641, when Sheppard had been practising law for twelve years, the Long Parliament decisively resolved several political grievances against the Caroline administration that resulted in permanent changes in the judicial structure... baptised in Horsley during the 1620s were Elizabeth in June 1623, Sarah in June 1624, Samuel in Mar 1627 and Anne in June 1628: GRO, P 181, IN 1 / I , fols 37, 38, 41,43 Another son, William, junior, was born during this decade In a record of the marriage of William Sheppard, junior, and Eleanor Hayward on 16 Mar 1651 at the church of St Michael in Gloucester the groom is identified as an attorney in the... to maintain connections with his inn or to establish a Westminster practice.21 Already thirty-four years old, Sheppard was finally at liberty to return to his large family and embark upon a promising career as a country lawyer.22 As he set about establishing his practice in the 1630s, the diverse nature of his clients' affairs broadened his knowledge of the law Continuing a custom he had followed in . CAMBRIDGE STUDIES IN ENGLISH LEGAL HISTORY Edited by D. E. C.YALE Fellow of Christ's College and Reader in English Legal History at the University of Cambridge WILLIAM. SYNDICATE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE The Pitt Building, Trumpington Street, Cambridge, United Kingdom CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 2RU, UK 40 West 20th. notwithstanding. Page numbers appearing in square brackets indicate actual sequence of unpaginated pages while those in single inverted commas denote an error in the printed pagination. The bibliography