Edward Turnour 1642?-1721

Sir Edward TURNOUR or TURNOR 1642?-1721

Biographical Note

Born at Little Parndon, Essex, son of Sir Edward Turnor, judge and speaker of the House of Commons. He matriculated at Christ's College, Cambridge in 1662, but did not graduate; he was admitted at the Middle Temple in 1661, where he became a barrister in 1672. He was knighted in 1664. His main home was an estate at Great Hallingbury, Essex, but he inherited other property from his father in 1676. While pursuing a legal career, he also became much embroiled in politics and after several unsuccessful attempts to be elected he became MP for Orford in 1701. His will reveals a series of bitter disputes with his only son Charles, and one of his daughters, over marriages which he thought unsuitable.

Books

Turnour used an engraved armorial bookplate, dated 1705 (Franks 30022/*345). The extent and disposition of his library is not known; his main legatee was his unmarried daughter Mary, but ongoing lawsuits meant that his estates were eventually partly dispersed.

Sources

• Gambier Howe, E. R. J. Franks bequest: catalogue of British and American book plates bequeathed to the ... British Museum. London, 1903-4.
• Murrell, P. E. "Turnour [Turnor], Sir Edward (1642x7–1721), lawyer and politician." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.