Francis Pemberton
British judge 1624-1697
Sir Francis Pemberton (18 July 1624 – 10 June 1697) was an English judge and briefly Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in the course of a turbulent career. He was imprisoned three times at various points in his career, and as a judge is considered to have shown strong bias for or against defendants in some of the important trials of political figures he presided over.
Early life
He was born on 18 July 1624 at St Albans, the son and heir of a former London merchant, Ralph Pemberton, mayor of St. Albans, in 1627 and 1638, by his wife, Frances, daughter of Francis Kempe. His grandfather was Roger Pemberton of St Albans, Hertfordshire. Francis was educated at St Albans School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. As a young man, he fell into dissolute company and acquired extravagant habits, leading to his imprisonment in the Fleet for debt.
On 14 October 1645, he was admitted a member of the Inner Temple. There, he applied himself diligently to the study of the law and, having eventually secured his release, he was called to the Bar on 27 November 1654.
Family
In 1667, Pemberton married Anne Whichcote, the daughter of Jeremy Whichcote, Warden of Fleet Prison.
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