AYLESFORD, HENEAGE FINCH, 1ST EARL OF (1649?-1719), son of Heneage Finch, earl of Nottingham, was educated at Westminster school and at Christ Church, Oxford. In 1679, during the chancellorship of his father, he was appointed solicitor-general, being returned to parliament for Oxford univer sity, and in 1685 for Guildford. In 1682 he represented the Crown in the attack upon the corporation of London, and the next year in the prosecution of Lord Russell, when, according to Burnet, "and in several other trials afterwards, he showed more of a vicious eloquence in turning matters with some subtlety against the prisoners than of strict or sincere reasoning."' In 1684, in the trial of Algernon Sidney, he argued that the unpublished trea tise of the accused was an overt act, and supported the opinion of Jeffreys that scribere est The same year he was counsel for Jame3 in his successful action against Titus Oates for libel, and in 1685 prosecuted Oates for the Crown for perjury. Finch, however, though a Tory and a Crown lawyer, was a staunch churchman, and on his refusal in 1686 to defend the royal dispens ing power he was summarily dismissed by James. He was the lead ing counsel in June 1688 for the seven bishops. He sat again for Oxford university in the Convention Parliament, which constitu ency he represented in all the following assemblies, except that of 1698, till his elevation to the peerage.
He was one of the few who in the House of Commons opposed the famous vote that James had broken the contract between king and people and left the throne vacant. He held no office during William's reign, and is described by Macky as "always a great opposer" of the administration. In 1689 he joined in voting for the reversal of Lord Russell's attainder, and endeavoured to defend his conduct in the trial, but was refused a hearing by the House. In 1703 he was created baron of Guernsey and a privy councillor, and after the accession of George I. on Oct. 19 1714, earl of Ayles f ord. He died on July 2 2 1 7 19.
The 2nd earl died in 1757, and since this date the earldom has been held by his direct descendants, six of whom in succession have borne the Christian name of Heneage.
Many of his legal arguments are printed in State Trials (see esp. viii. 694, 1,087, ix. 625, 88o, 996, x. 126, 319, 405, 1,199, xii. 183, 353, 365). Wood attributes to him on the faith of common rumour the authorship of An Antidote against Poison . . . Remarks upon a Paper printed by Lady (Rachel) Russel (1683), ascribed in State Trials (ix. 710) to Sir Bartholomew Shower; but see the latter's allusion to it on p. 753.