John Powell (1645–1713), of Gloucester, was an English politician and lawyer.
He was elected as Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Gloucester in 1685.
He was appointed as a Baron of the Exchequer in 1691, and transferred to Common Pleas in 1695 and then to Queen's Bench in 1702. [1] He was the judge at one of England's last witchcraft trials, that of Jane Wenham in 1712. He demonstrated scepticism regarding the accused's alleged supernatural activities, [2] but the jury convicted her anyway. She received a pardon.
Powell was unmarried and left most of his estate to a niece. He had property at Deerhurst where he reportedly discovered Odda's Dedication Stone, now in the Ashmolean Museum. [3]
He has a memorial in Gloucester Cathedral sculpted by Thomas Green of Camberwell. [2]
John Powell (1645–1713), of Gloucester, was an English politician and lawyer.
He was elected as Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Gloucester in 1685.
He was appointed as a Baron of the Exchequer in 1691, and transferred to Common Pleas in 1695 and then to Queen's Bench in 1702. [1] He was the judge at one of England's last witchcraft trials, that of Jane Wenham in 1712. He demonstrated scepticism regarding the accused's alleged supernatural activities, [2] but the jury convicted her anyway. She received a pardon.
Powell was unmarried and left most of his estate to a niece. He had property at Deerhurst where he reportedly discovered Odda's Dedication Stone, now in the Ashmolean Museum. [3]
He has a memorial in Gloucester Cathedral sculpted by Thomas Green of Camberwell. [2]