John Savile (died 1607)

Sir John Savile (1546–1607) was an English lawyer and judge.

He was the eldest son of Henry Savile of Bradley, near Stainland, Yorkshire,^[1] by his wife Elizabeth, only daughter of Robert Ramsden; Sir Henry Savile and Thomas Savile were younger brothers. He matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford, in 1561, but did not graduate.^[2] To avoid the plague in 1563, he remained in Bradley, where he studied law books on his own.^[3]

Savile entered the Middle Temple, where he was autumn reader in 1586. In 1572 he was elected member of parliament for Newton, Lancashire.^[2] His candidacy has been attributed to friendship with William Fleetwood; another friend and parliamentarian was Henry Gates.^[3]

Savile practised in the exchequer court, and in 1594 he was made serjeant-at-law. In 1598 he became baron of the exchequer on Lord Burghley's recommendation. In 1599 he was placed on a commission for suppressing heresy. He was knighted by James I on 25 July 1603, and in 1604 was made chief justice of the county palatine of Lancaster.^[2]

In November 1606 Savile was one of the barons of the exchequer who decided that the king could by royal prerogative levy impositions on imports and exports.^[2] He had consistently supported the common law courts against the prerogative in his earlier judicial career, however.^[3] He died on 2 February 1607, and was buried in St. Dunstan's-in-the-West, London; his heart was taken to Methley in Yorkshire, in the church of which a monument, with an inscription, was erected to his memory. Like other members of his family, Savile was a friend of William Camden, whom he entertained at Bradley in August 1599. He was also an original member of the College of Antiquaries.^[2]

The only published work by Savile is the collection of Reports of cases tried in the exchequer court, edited (1675) by John Richardson.^[2][4]

Savile was four times married:^[2]

1. to Jane, daughter of Richard Garth of Morden, Surrey, by whom he had issue a son Henry, and two daughters;
2. to Elizabeth, daughter of Thomas Wentworth of North Elmsall, Yorkshire, by whom he had issue John (died 1651), who was heir to his half-brother Henry, and great-grandfather of John Savile, 1st Earl of Mexborough (1720–1778);
3. to Dorothy, daughter of Thomas Wentworth, 1st Baron Wentworth (died 1551), and widow of Sir W. Widmerpoole and then of Sir Martin Frobisher; and
4. to Margery, daughter of Ambrose Peake, and widow of Sir Jerome Weston.

By his last two wives, Savile had no issue.^[2]

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1897). "Savile, John (1545-1607)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 50. London: Smith, Elder & Co.