Nottingham, Heneage Finch, 1st earl of

Nottingham, Heneage Finch, 1st earl of (hĕn`ĭj, nŏt`ĭngəm), 1621–82, lord chancellor of England. He took no part in the politics of the English civil war, but in 1660 he entered Parliament and became solicitor general, serving as prosecutor at the trial of the regicides. He became attorney general in 1670 and lord chancellor in 1675. He was created earl of Nottingham in 1681. In an age of corruption he added to his reputation as an able lawyer that of a statesman of integrity. He is remembered by lawyers for his just and systematic administration of equity.