Background
The son of Giles Eyre and his wife Anne, Eyre attended Winchester College before gaining admittance to Exeter College, Oxford in 1653, then joining Lincoln"s Inn on 19 October 1654.
The son of Giles Eyre and his wife Anne, Eyre attended Winchester College before gaining admittance to Exeter College, Oxford in 1653, then joining Lincoln"s Inn on 19 October 1654.
Exeter College.
While his call to the Bar on 7 November 1661 would normally herald the start of a legal career, by this point Eyre had already been returned as Member of Parliament for Downton. Joining the opposition under Lord Warton, Eyre laid aside the debate on the Thirty-Nine Articles before abandoning his seat at the 1661 general election in favour of Gilbert Raleigh. Their daughter Dorothy later married Richard Frewin.
Out of Parliament, Eyre became Deputy Recorder of Salisbury in 1675, receiving promotion to Recorder in 1681.
Replaced in October 1684 when Salisbury"s charter was removed, he was reinstated on the return of the charter in October 1688. Following James II"s flight and the Glorious Revolution, Eyre was returned for the Salisbury Parliamentary constituency, playing a role in drafting the Bill of Rights 1689.
He is thought to be the author of Reflections upon the late great revolution: written by a lay-hand in the country for the satisfaction of some neighbours. On 8 May 1689 he was made a Justice of the King"s Bench and a Serjeant-at-Law, receiving a knighthood soon afterwards.
He held this position "with great cr" until his death on 2 June 1695.
A painting of Giles Eyre by Thomas Hudson (1701-1779) was formally in the possession of Cider House Galleries Limited.