The Reports of Sir Peyton Ventris

by Sir Peyton Ventris

Ventris came to prominence only after the revolution of 1688. He was chosen to one of Ipswich's seats in the Convention Parliament in January 1689, where he reportedly voted against declaring the throne vacant by virtue of James II's departure from England. In his only recorded parliamentary speech Ventris defended the hereditary royal revenue. Ventris, along with other more prominent lawyers, took the oath as a serjeant-at-law on 2 May 1689. Two days later the king made him a justice of common pleas; a knighthood followed on 31 October 1689. Like other justices, Ventris was often asked to comment on legal cases heard in the House of Lords and on proposed legislation that would affect the operation of the law. But Ventris's recorded statements, both in court and in parliament, were few and brief compared to those of the more prominent jurists with whom he served. After a long illness Ventris died on 6 April 1691 at his house in Ipswich and was buried in the chancel of St Nicholas's Church, survived by his wife, his mother, five sons, and a daughter. Why Ventris, who had done little to distinguish himself professionally, had been advanced to the bench remains unclear, though his Reports endure as among the most important written during the Restoration.

Bibliographic Information

Author: Sir Peyton Ventris, (1645-1691)

Title: The Reports of Sir Peyton Ventris

Publication Info: London, In the Savoy: Printed by E. and R. Nutt and R. Gosling for D. Browne, 1726.

Edition:

Description of the Wolf Law Library's copy

Bound in contemporary calf and rebacked in period style with raised bands and lettering piece to the spine and renewed endpapers. Purchased from The Lawbook Exchange, Ltd.