The History of Wales

Born on this day 1645 in Acton, Wrexham,

George Jeffreys (Hanging Judge Jeffreys).

Jeffreys was a lawyer notorious for his brutality and corruption. He was educated at Westminster School and at Trinity College, Cambridge. He was called to the bar in 1668.

Jeffreys was the leading prosecuting counsel in several of the trials of suspects involved in an alleged Catholic conspiracy between 1678 and 1681 to kill King Charles II. It was called the ‘Popish Plot’, and during the trial Jeffreys gained a reputation for taking bribes and using suspect evidence. In 1685 Jeffreys presided over the trial known as the ‘Bloody Assizes' after the Duke of Monmouth had led an unsuccessful rebellion against King James II. He tried 1300 men, all of whom he convicted, hanging 320, with the remainder sent for transportation to the colonies as slave labour. He also sentenced Monmouth to death by beheading.

When James was deposed in 1688 Jeffreys tried to flee the country by disguising himself as a sailor. He was captured and held in the Tower of London but died before he could face trial for his actions.