Sir Edward Lake, 1st Baronet
Sir Edward Lake, 1st Baronet was a lawyer who became advocate general of Ireland. He was a Royalist, badly wounded in the Battle of Edgehill, and was the first of the Lake baronets. Sir Edward also became chancellor and vicar General of the diocese of Lincoln, England.
Origins
Edward Lake was the oldest son of Richard Lake and his first wife Anne, née Wardall This surname was sometimes spelled as "Wardell". His parents were married on 18 May 1600 in Keelby, Lincolnshire. On the same day at Keelby, Anne's sister Margaret, married John Markham.Anne was a daughter of Edward Wardall, a yeoman, who was a Churchwarden of Keelby in 1600.His name is listed as a Churchwarden at the bottom of the same register page on which the marriages of his two daughters Ann, and Margaret were recorded at Keelby. Ann's mother, "Jannett Wardell" was buried in Habrough, on 15 May 1595. Edward Lake's maternal grandfather Edward Wardall, was buried on 8 July 1619 in Keelby.
Edwards Lake's father, Richard, was born in 1570 in Irby upon Humber and baptised there on 16 July. He was a son of John Lake. Irby is just over five and a half miles from the village of Keelby. Richard's first wife died before 1615. His second wife was Anne Morrelly. She was baptised in Claxby, Lincolnshire, on 1 February 1583. Their oldest son, Thomas Lake, was baptised in Tetney, on 11 August 1615. Richard Lake was a Tailor, and died in 1626 in Tetney. He made his will on 2 September 1626.
Early life and education
Edward was born in 1600 and baptised on 22 February 1600, in Tetney, Lincolnshire. This was nine months after his parents were married, as prior to 1752, England used the Julian Calendar, and the year began on 25 March. A memorial inscription in All Saints' Church, Normanton, Yorkshire states that he was 77 when he died on 18 July 1674, which would point to him being born in about 1597. However, it was not uncommon at this time for there to be errors on ages at burial.When his father Richard died in Tetney in September 1626, Edward was named as Richard's oldest son in his will. Richard left Edward two shillings. The rest of Edward's half-siblings were to have thirty shillings each. Edward's stepmother died a year later in Tetney. He was not mentioned in the will of his stepmother. But Edward's half-siblings, Thomas, Ambrose, John, Luke, and Anne all were. These five half-siblings of Edward were all previously mentioned in the will of Richard Lake. Thomas, John, and Luke, were later mentioned in Edward's original will, dated 8 April 1665 in Lincoln. Anne's brother, John Morriley of Claxby, was named as the executor of her will. John had previously been named as Richard's brother in-law, and executor of Richard Lake's will in 1626.
He studied at St Catharine Hall, Cambridge, and gained a BA in 1626. He then studied at St Alban's Hall, Oxford, and graduated as a BCL, from there on 24 January 1628.
In the following year, Edward received a Master of Arts from Cambridge University. In 1636, he was incorporated at Cambridge as an LL.B, graduating in 1637 as an LL.D.
Adult life
Edward Lake became a lawyer and was appointed Advocate general of Ireland. From 1639 he represented Cavan in the Irish Parliament, and helped to draft the clerical subsidies bill in the following year. But he was expelled from the Commons in Ireland on 9 November 1640. This was as a result of "misconduct" while on a grand committee that was set up to investigate certain privileges which had been claimed by Michael Stanhope, the register.Following the outbreak of the English Civil War he joined the Royalist forces and fought in the Battle of Edgehill, on Sunday 23 October 1642. In this battle he received sixteen wounds. His left arm was wounded by a shot. He bravely held the bridle of his horse with his teeth, while fighting with his sword in the right hand. He was captured and imprisoned at Great Crosby, Lancashire, but escaped after seven weeks. Edward was safe in Bangor, Caernarvonshire by Christmas of 1642.
On 30 December 1643 King Charles I awarded him a warrant for a baronetcy in recognition of his services, but no patent was taken out at the time. Charles I also promised him some compensation for the loss of his estates.
Following the Restoration, he petitioned for the restoration of lands, preferment, and the award of the baronetcy. He was made Chancellor of the diocese of Lincoln in 1660. In this position Edward was the Bishop's Chancellor. This was a separate role from the Chancellor of the cathedral.
The copy of a Patent confirming the armorial augmentations to Sir Edward Lake were signed and sealed by Sir William Dugdale, Norroy King of Arms on 12 June 1661. He was not given back his lands but was given a baronetcy. He was given the baronetcy of Carnow, County Wicklow Ireland, by patent. This baronetcy was created on 10 July 1661.
The Augmentation to his Coat of Arms included an addition of a second crest which was a picture of him, reins in teeth, sword in right hand, and in some, 16 drops of blood. Photo attached of coat of arms.
Sir Edward became Vicar General of the diocese of Lincoln in 1661. In this role, Edward was the principal official of the Bishop of Lincoln.
On 14 November 1666 Edward King (Parliamentarian) presented a petition of grievances against Sir Edward Lake at a parliamentary committee. These grievances included extortion and other illegal conduct. Edward King printed and published a petition against Sir Edward. The accusations published were judged to be false, and "stuffed with illegal assertions, ineptitudes, imperfections, clogged with gross ignorances, absurdities, and solecisms. " And so Edward satisfied this committee about his conduct, and the case was judged in his favour at the Guildhall in London, on 22 May 1667.