William Sheppard (died 1674) was an English barrister, known as a legal writer.^[1]

Sheppard was baptised at Whitminster, Gloucestershire, at the end of 1595, and entered the Middle Temple in 1620; he was called to the bar in 1629.^[1] He lived in Horsley and enjoyed a large country legal practice.^[2]

About 1653 Sheppard was invited to London by Cromwell, and made one of the clerks of the upper bench. In 1656 he became a serjeant-at-law, and was nominated with three others to prepare the charters granted to town corporations.^[2] In September 1659 he was appointed chief justice in North Wales, by the Rump Parliament.^[2]

After the Restoration of 1660 Sheppard was deprived of his offices and left public life. He had six children: John (a clergyman), Elizabeth, Sarah, Samuel, Anne, and Dorothy.^[2]

Sheppard wrote legal and religious works:^[2]

• The office and duties of Constables, or tythingmen … and other lay ministers. Whereunto are adjoined the several offices of church ministers and church wardens, London, 1641; 4th ed. 1657.
• The Court Keeper's Guide, London, 1641; 7th ed. by William Brown, 1685.
• A Catechism, London, 1649.
• Four Last Things, 1649. A theological work, its introduction expressed political support for the Rump Parliament, slanted against the Presbyterian faction.^[3][4] Of the Foure Last and Greatest Things (1658) was a collaboration with Thomas Barlow.^[1]
• Guide to Justices of the Peace, 1649; 5th ed. 1669.
• The Faithful Counsellor, London, 1651–4. An early encyclopedic work on English law, it was used in later compilations.^[1]
• England's Balme, London, 1651. A comprehensive plan for legal reconstruction.^[1] With Sir Matthew Hale and John March, Sheppard wished to reform the common law from within.^[5]
• The People's Privilege and Duty guarded against the Pulpit, London, 1652. Sheppard has been identified as a follower of John Owen; and this expression of the Independent line on preaching may have recommended him to Cromwell.^[1]
• Justice of the Peace his Clerk's Cabinet, 1654.
• The Parson's Guide or the Law of Tithes, London, 1654; 2nd ed. 1670.
• The Precedent of Precedents, London, 1655; ed. by Thomas Walter Williams, 1825.
• View of the Laws concerning Religion, London, 1655.
• Epitome of the Common and Statute Laws, London, 1656.
• Survey of the County Judicatories, London, 1656.
• Office of Country Justice of Peace, London, 1655–6.
• Concerning Sincerity and Hypocrisy, Oxford, 1658.
• Of Corporations, Fraternities, and Guilds, London.
• A New Survey of the Justice of the Peace his Office, London, 1659.
• Actions upon the Case for Slander, 1662; 2nd ed. London, 1674.
• Office of the Clerk of the Market, London, 1665.
• The Practical Counsellor in the Law, London, 1671.
• Actions upon the Case for Deeds, 2nd ed. London, 1675; 3rd ed. 1680.
• A Grand Abridgement of the Common and Statute Law of England, London, 1675.

He also published the Touchstone of Common Assurances (1641); tradition said he had found it in manuscript in Sir John Doddridge's library, but a connection with Doddridge is no longer accepted. The eighth edition of this work, by Edmond Gibson Atherley, was published in 1826. Sheppard wrote a second part, published with the first, Law of Common Assurances (1650).^[2][6]

A Collection of Choice Declarations (1653), attributed to Sheppard in the first edition of the Dictionary of National Biography, was by William Small.^[1]

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Lee, Sidney, ed. (1897). "Sheppard, William (d.1675?)". Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 52. London: Smith, Elder & Co.