Walter Rumsey

Who was Walter Rumsey?

Walter Rumsey was a Welsh judge and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1640. He suffered for his support of the Royalist cause in the English Civil War. He was also a man of arts and sciences, and developed plantsmanship, devised medical apparatus and carried out scientific experiments on coffee and tobacco.

Rumsey was born at Llanover, in Monmouthshire, the son of Walter Rumsey of Usk. He was admitted to Gloucester Hall, Oxford, at the age of 16, where he studied under Francis Bacon and William Harvey. He then went to Gray's Inn, where he was made Barrister, Puncher, and Lent Reader. In 1635 he was appointed Puisne Judge in the Brecon Circuit, and in 1637 he became Chief Justice. He was so eminent in his profession that he was called " the picklock of the Law."

In April 1640, Rumsey was elected Member of Parliament for Monmouthshire in the Short Parliament. He refused to serve in the Long Parliament and in 1645 was removed by parliament from his position as second justice on the Brecknock circuit.

In addition to the law, Rumsy was interested in philosophy, science and music. Wood described him as a good musician who played the organ and lute and was a composer.