Henry Cornish
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Henry Cornish (died 1685) was a London alderman, executed in the reign of James II of England.
Life
He was a well-to-do merchant of London, and alderman of the ward of
Charles II decided to force on the city two sheriffs of his own choosing, named Box and Nicolson. The latter demanded a poll, which lasted until 22 July, and on the 29th Cornish and Bethel were declared elected. Cornish headed the poll with 2,400 votes.' On 14 May 1681 Cornish, with other members of the corporation, went to Windsor to present a petition to the king for the summoning of parliament, but Charles declined to receive the deputation. Cornish appeared as a witness for the defence at the trial of Edward Fitzharris, a Catholic informer (9 June 1681); this may have been due to a misconception.
On 18 January 1682 he was one of the five aldermen on the committee of defence against the quo warranto writ brought against the charter of the city of London. On 3 July 1682 proceedings were taken against him by the court for rioting and abetting riots in the city on the occasion of the election of sheriffs in the preceding June, when the lord mayor, a friend of the court, had been roughly handled. On 8 May 1683, Cornish was convicted, and on 26 May was fined. In October 1682 the city whigs desired to choose Cornish as lord mayor; three candidates were nominated for the office, but by the wholesale rejection of votes, Cornish was defeated. He polled only forty-five votes below the successful candidate, although he stood at the bottom of the poll.
John Rumsey, arrested on suspicion of complicity in the alleged
On 30 January 1689 an act of parliament was passed reversing the attainder of Cornish. An account of Cornish's trial appeared in 1685; his last speech in the press-yard of Newgate was issued, together with the last words of
References
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Cornish, Henry". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 14 December 2019), Ordinary of Newgate's Account, October 1685 (OA16851023).
- Old Bailey Proceedings Online (www.oldbaileyonline.org, version 8.0, 14 December 2019), October 1689 (o16891009-1).