GRIFFITH, JOHN (fl. 1548-1587), civil lawyer

Name: John Griffith
Parent: Margaret ferch John Wyn ap Meredith
Parent: William Griffith
Gender: Male
Occupation: civil lawyer
Area of activity: Law; Public and Social Service, Civil Administration
Author: Arthur Herbert Dodd

He was probably the son of William Griffith of Plas Mawr, Caernarvon, and of Trefarthen, Llanidan, Anglesey (died 1587), the eldest son of the second marriage of Sir William Griffith of Penrhyn. His mother was Margaret, daughter of John Wyn ap Meredith of Gwydir and aunt to the first Sir John Wynn. He became a Fellow of All Souls, Oxford, in 1548, took his B.C.L. in 1551 (18 July) and his doctorate in 1563 (7 July).

In 1559 (23 February) queen Elizabeth allowed William Awbrey to hand over to Griffith his office of Regius professor of civil law at Oxford, which Griffith held till 1566, combining it from 1561-4 with the principalship of New Inn Hall. On 26 February 1564 he was admitted to Doctors' Commons. He was elected M.P. for Caernarvon borough in 1571, and served as sheriff of Caernarvonshire in 1582-3 and of Anglesey in 1587.

His younger brother, WILLIAM GRIFFITH, LL.D., was admiralty judge for Caernarvon and M.P. for the borough in 1586, and in the following year was responsible for setting on foot the man-hunt which resulted in the discovery of a group of recusants meeting in the Rhiwledyn cave in Creuddyn with their own printing press (see under Puw).

Author

Published date: 1959

Article Copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/page/InC/1.0/

The Dictionary of Welsh Biography is provided by The National Library of Wales and the University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies. It is free to use and does not receive grant support. A donation would help us maintain and improve the site so that we can continue to acknowledge Welsh men and women who have made notable contributions to life in Wales and beyond.

Find out more on our sponsorship page.