TURNOR (TURNER), Arthur (c.1588-1651), of Great Parndon, Essex and the Middle Temple, London; later of Serjeants’ Inn, Chancery Lane, London.

Turnor’s family originated in Haverhill, on the Suffolk-Essex border, but subsequently settled at Great Parndon, near Harlow, following the marriage of Turnor’s grandfather. Morant, ii. 495-6. Turnor’s father was retained by his kinsman, the 1st earl of Suffolk, ‘as counsel in divers matters’, and not surprisingly, therefore, Turnor followed him into the legal profession. He probably owed his election for Derby in 1614 to the influence of Suffolk’s son, Henry Howard*, who was returned to the same Parliament for Derbyshire. The first of his family to sit, Turnor left no trace on the records of the Addled Parliament.

Howard’s death in 1616 ended the family interest in Derbyshire, and Turnor’s chances of benefiting from Suffolk’s own patronage were terminated by the latter’s disgrace in 1618 and a quarrel between Suffolk and Turnor’s father. C2/Jas.I/S26/8. Turnor subsequently attached himself to Sir Thomas Coventry*, whom he described as ‘my honourable and true Maecenas’. W.R. Prest, Rise of the Barristers, 37. By the early 1630s he had grown so prosperous that he was able to spend £4,000 on a purchase at Haverhill. C78/361/9. In addition, he enjoyed some sort of financial interest in the East India Company, which had been assigned to him by his brother, although he seems never to have joined the Company himself. C2/Jas.I/S26/8. He contributed to the cost of the First Bishops’ War, CSP Dom. Addenda, 1625-49, p. 604. but avoided taking sides in the Civil War. However, evidence he supplied was used in the impeachment of Archbishop Laud. Works of Abp. Laud ed. J. Bliss, iv. 256. By the late 1640s Turnor was earning over £400 a year from his practice, which mainly centred on the Court of Common Pleas. Prest, 38. He also served as an assize judge, and was nominated by the Lords to be a commissioner of the great seal in September 1646 and baron of the Exchequer in August 1648, on both occasions unsuccessfully. LJ, viii. 482; x. 442. He died aged 63, and was buried in the Temple Church on 4 July 1651. No will or grant of administration has been found. His son Edward represented Essex under the Protectorate and served as Speaker in the Cavalier Parliament. Dugdale, 177; Order of Sjts.-at-Law, 541.