Master of The Rolls
On 13 July 1717, Jekyll was appointed Master of the Rolls, and the same year became a Privy Councillor. His time as Master "was distinguished by legal ability, integrity and despatch", and during this period he helped write The Judicial Authority of the Master of the Rolls. He was given the Great Seal on 7 January 1725, and held it until June 1. On 19 August 1738 he died of "a mortification in the bowels", and was buried in the Rolls Chapel. In his will he left £20,000 to help pay off the national debt, something Lord Mansfield described as "a very foolish bequest.. he might as well have attempted to stop the middle arch of Blackfriars Bridge with his wig full-bottomed wig".
Read more about this topic: Joseph Jekyll
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