William Noy

William Noy (1577 – 9 August 1634) was an English jurist.^[1]

William Noy.

He was born on the family estate of Pendrea in St Buryan, Cornwall.^[2] He left Exeter College, Oxford, without taking a degree, and entered Lincoln's Inn in 1594. From 1603 until his death he was elected, with one exception, to each parliament, sitting invariably for a constituency of his native county. For several years his sympathies were in antagonism to the court party, yet every commission that was appointed numbered Noy among its members, and even those who were opposed to him in politics acknowledged his learning.

A few years before his death he changed political allegiance, went over to the side of the court, and in October 1631 he was created Attorney-general,^[1] but was never knighted. It was through his advice that the impost of ship money was levied, resulting in a controversy that helped trigger the English Civil War. Noy suffered from stones, and died in great pain; he was buried at New Brentford church.

His principal works are On the Grounds and Maxims of the Laws of this Kingdom (1641) and The Compleat Lawyer (1661).

References

• Cornwall portal

1. Granger, James (1824). A Biographical History of England. Vol. 3 (5th ed.). London: William Baynes and Son. p. 22. OCLC 895919199.
2. Toy, Henry Spencer (1912). The Ancient Borough of Helston. Helston: John Lander & Son. Retrieved 19 August 2014.

•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Noy, William". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Further reading

• Hart, James S. (23 September 2004). "Noy [Noye], William (1577–1634), lawyer and politician". Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/20384. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Parliament of England
Preceded by John Gray John Astell	Member of Parliament for Grampound 1604–1611 With: Sir Francis Barnham	Succeeded by John Hampden Robert Carey
Preceded by Sir Robert Killigrew Henry Bulstrode	Member of Parliament for Helston 1621–1622 With: St Thomas Stafford	Succeeded by Thomas Carey Francis Carew
Preceded by Jonathan Rashleigh John Treffry	Member of Parliament for Fowey 1624–1625 With: Sir Robert Coke	Succeeded by John Payne Francis Godolphin
Preceded by William Parkhurst Francis Godolphin	Member of Parliament for St Ives 1626 With: Edward Savage	Succeeded by Jonathan Rashleigh Arthur Basset
Preceded by Francis Godolphin Francis Carew	Member of Parliament for Helston 1628–1629 With: Sidney Godolphin	Parliament suspended until 1640
Legal offices
Preceded by Sir Robert Heath	Attorney General 1631–1634	Succeeded by Sir John Bankes