Page:A catalogue of notable Middle Templars, with brief biographical notices.djvu/220

 in 1724, he was engaged to defend the Earl of Macclesfield in his impeachment,, and in this displayed much ability. In Nov. 1726, he was appointed a judge of the King's Bench, and, having fulfilled the duties of that office with much learning and judgment for fourteen years, was advanced in 1740 to the position of Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He died 17 May, 1742.

Admitted 11 August, 1605.

Son and heir of John Puckering, Knight, Lord-Keeper of the Great Seal of England. From 1605 to 1610, he acted as companion of Henry, Prince of Wales. He sat in Parliament for Tarn worth from 1620 to 1628, and was High Sheriff of Warwickshire in 1625. In 1612 he was knighted, and made a Baronet. He was buried in the Church of St. Mary, Warwick, where there is an elaborate monument to his memory.

Admitted 24 May, 1606.

Son and heir of Richard Puleston of Worthy Abbots, co. Southampton. He was admitted from Clifford's Inn, and was called to the Bar 13 Feb. 1615. He served the office of Reader in 1634, and was Treasurer of the Inn in 1646. He obtained the Order of the Coif in 1648, and was made a Judge of the Common Pleas the following year. He presided at the trial of John Lilburne. He died 5 Sept. 1659.

PURBECK, VISCOUNT. See VILLIERS, JOHN.

Admitted 11 August, 1556.

Second son of Robert Puttenham of Sherwyll, Hants (Shorwell, I. W.). He was born about 1532, and is said to have been a "schollar of Oxford," though his name does not appear on the University books. He lived at the Court of Edward VI., and was one of Queen Elizabeth's gentlemen pensioners. His mother was a sister of Sir Thomas Elyot, author of the Governour, from whom he probably derived his taste for literature. He is celebrated as the reputed author (though the work is sometimes attributed to his brother Richard) of a celebrated treatise entitled The Art of English Poesie, published anonymously in 1589, which may be called the first attempt at English philosophical criticism. The work was reprinted in 1811, but the original is now very rare. A copy, once the property of Ben Jonson, is in the British Museum. Puttenham is said to have written also an Eclogue entitled Elpine.

Admitted 6 December, 1590.

"Son and heir of Roger Pye of Themend" (The Mynde) co. Hereford. He was a favourite of Buckingham, by whose influence he was made Justice of Glamorgan, Brecknock, and Radnor, in 1617, and Attorney-General of the Court of Wards and Liveries in 1621. He was knighted at Whitehall in