Preceded by John Willes Preceded by Sir Joseph Jekyll Died 5 August 1741 Name John Verney | Succeeded by Matthew Skinner Succeeded by Sir John Strange Nationality British | |
Sir John Verney, KC, PC (23 October 1699 – 5 August 1741) was a British barrister, judge and politician. He was born in Brasted, Kent on 23 October 1699 to George Verney, 12th Baron Willoughby de Broke. In 1714 he matriculated to New College, Oxford, and became a student of the Middle Temple the following year. He was called to the Bar in 1721, and in an attempt to gain contacts for his work as a barrister he became a Member of Parliament (MP) for Downton with the help of his brother-in-law, Anthony Duncombe, in 1722. On 16 September 1724 he married Abigail, the daughter of Sir Edward Harley, the younger brother of Queen Anne's Tory minister, Robert Harley, created Earl of Oxford.
Verney sat in Parliament as a Tory, speaking out against the Whig Prime Minister Robert Walpole. In 1726 he switched sides, however, and Walpole made him a judge in Wales as a reward. In 1727 he became a King's Counsel, and in 1728 a Bencher at Lincoln's Inn, having switched Inns some time earlier. In the 1727 election he campaigned in Radnor, but lost and was again returned for Downton.
In May 1729 he was made Attorney General to the Queen Consort, Queen Caroline. He resigned from his Welsh post in 1732 due to ill-health, but in 1732 accepted an appointment as Chief Justice of Cheshire. After the death of Sir Joseph Jekyll on 19 August 1738, Verney applied to succeed him as Master of the Rolls, and was accepted after the position was turned down by Sir John Strange. He took office on 9 October 1738, and was sworn in on 12 October. After a few years, his ill-health made it impossible to continue as Master of the Rolls, and he offered his resignation to the Lord Chancellor in early 1741.
In May 1741 he was again elected for Downton, but he died on 5 August. As his older brother had no children, Verney's eldest son, John, succeeded him as Baron Willoughby de Broke.