Thomas Powys

Sir Thomas Powys (1649 – 4 April 1719), of Henley, near Ludlow, Shropshire and Lilford cum Wigsthorpe, Northamptonshire, was an English lawyer, judge and Tory politician, who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1701 and 1713. He was attorney general to King James II and was chief prosecutor at the trial of the Seven Bishops in June 1688. He served as Justice of the King's Bench from 1713 to 1714, but was dismissed.

Early years Powys was the second son of Thomas Powys of Henley Hall in Shropshire and his first wife, Anne Littleton, daughter of Sir Adam Littleton, 1st Baronet. He was the younger brother of Sir Littleton Powys (1647–1732). Powys was educated at Shrewsbury School, and matriculated at Queen's College, Oxford on 20 May 1664, aged 15. His son, another Thomas Powys, was admitted at Lincoln's Inn on 19 February 1696 and the father was called to the bar in 1673. but as he and his brother, Sir Littleton Powys, too frequently formed judgments in opposition to the rest of the court, he, as the more active and able of the two, was removed, on Lord-chancellor Cowper's advice, when George I of Great Britain came to England (1714). His position as King's Serjeant was restored to him after an appeal, and he held the position for the rest of his life. After 1713 he did not stand for parliament.

Later life and legacy Powys lived in London, where all his eight children were born and baptised at St Giles in the Fields, Holburn, prior to acquiring Lilford Hall in 1711, induced to inspect it by his friend, Sir Edward Ward. Powys is buried at Achurch. He died in London in 1719 and was temporarily held at St Giles in the Fields, Holburn, and was buried at Lilford, Northants and later moved to Thorp Achurch nearby. He was twice married: first to Sarah, daughter of Ambrose Holbech of Mollington, Warwickshire; and secondly, to Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Philip Meadows. He had issue with both; and his great-grandson Thomas Powys, was created Lord Lilford in 1797. His portrait hangs at the Tarlton Law Library, University of Texas at Austin.

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