Justice of Chester
TheJustice of Chesterwas the chief judicial authority for thecounty palatineof Chester, from the establishment of the county[1]until the abolition of theGreat Sessionsin Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830.[2]
Within the County Palatine (which encompassedCheshire,the City ofChester,andFlintshire), the Justice enjoyed the jurisdiction possessed in England by theCourt of Common Pleasand theKing's Bench.[3]While the legal reorganisation of Wales and theMarchesunderHenry VIIIdiminished the authority of theEarl of Chester(i.e., thePrince of Wales) in the County Palatine, the authority of the Justice was, in fact, increased. In 1542, the Great Sessions were established in Wales, that country being divided into four circuits of three shires each.Denbighshire,Flintshire,andMontgomeryshirewere made part of the Chester circuit, over which the Justice presided. UnderElizabeth I,a second justice was added to each of the Welsh circuits,[4]after which the senior and junior justice are generally referred to as theChief Justice of Chesterand theSecondorPuisne Justice of Chester.
Because the Cheshire justices were free to practise asbarristersin the English courts or sit inParliament,the post of Chief Justice was often awarded as a form ofpatronageby the Government to aspiring lawyers. The offices of Chief andPuisne Justicewere abolished in 1830, as part of reforms that also brought Wales under the jurisdiction of the courts at Westminster.
Justices of Chester[edit]
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- Philip Orreby 1202–29[5]
- John de Grey c.1246[6]
- William de Vernon 1229–?1236
- Richard de Vernon
- Earl of Lincoln
- John Lestrange1241-1245
- John Grey 1245-1249
- Alan la Zouche 1250–1255[7]
- Gilbert Talbot 1255–[7]
- Roger de Montalt/Mohaut (aka Mold) 1258–1259[7]
- Fulk de Orreby 1259–1261[7]
- Thomas de Orreby 1261–1262[7]
- William la Zouche 1262–[8]
- Luke de Thaney c.1265[8][7]
- James de Audley c.1265[7]
- Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wiltonc.1270
- Robert de Ufford c.1276–[9]
- Guncelin Badelesmere 1276-79
- Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton1281-1290
- Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wiltonc.1297
- Richard Massy c.1300[8]
- Robert Holland, 1st Baron Holandc.1307–c.1320
- Pain de Tibetot c.1311[10]
- Richard Daumary c.1325[11]
- William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdonc.1330[12]
- Hugh de Freyne c.1335[13]
- Henry Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Groby1336–1342[14]
- Thomas de Felton 1369–1381[15]
- Sir John Holland1381–1385
- Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York1385–1387
- Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland1387–1388
- Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester1388–1391
- John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter1391–1394
- Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk1394–1398
- William le Scrope, 1st Earl of Wiltshire1398–1399
- Henry Percy1400–1403
- Gilbert Talbot, 5th Baron Talbot1403–1419
- Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter1420–1427
- Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester1427–1440
- William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk1440–1450 (jointly from 1443, murdered 1450))
- Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley1443–1459 (jointly to 1450)
- John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury1459–1460 (KIA 1460)
- in commission1460
- John Needham 1461
- Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby1461–1471
- Richard, Duke of Gloucester1471
- Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby1471–1504
- Sir Thomas Englefield1505–1514?
- Sir Nicholas Hare1540–1545
- Sir Robert Townshend1545–1557
- Sir John Pollard1557
- George Wood Esq.1558 of Hall atte Wood, Balterley, Staffordshire
- John Throckmorton1558–1578
- Sir George Bromley1564–1589
- Richard Shuttleworth 1589–1592
- Sir Richard Lewknor1592–1616
Chief and Puisne Justices of Chester[edit]
Offices abolished 1830
References[edit]
- ^Yates, p. 6
- ^Yates, p. 7
- ^Yates, pp. 32–33
- ^The Penny Cyclopedia,p. 505
- ^Jones, Douglas.The Church in Chester, 1300-1540.p. 102.
- ^Gastrell, Francis.Notitia Cestriensis, Or, Historical Notices of the Diocese of Chester: Cheshire.p. 140.
- ^abcdefgJones, Philip.In Search of Chester's Medieval Castle.
- ^abcHanshall, J.H.The history of the county palatine of Chester.p. 143.
- ^Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families, 2nd Edition.p. 494.
- ^Public Records, Great Britain.Report, 1840-1908, Volume 36.p. 27.
- ^THE THIRTY-SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT.p. 370.
- ^Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition.p. 691.
- ^Plantagenet Ancestry: A Study In Colonial And Medieval Families, 2nd Edition.p. 332.
- ^Bothwell, James.Edward III and the English Peerage: Royal Patronage, Social Mobility, and...p. App. 2.
- ^Institute of Archaeology and Natural History, Suffolk.Proceedings, Volume 4, Issues 1-4.p. 28.
Bibliography[edit]
- Yates, Joseph Brooks (1856).The Rights and Jurisdiction of the County Palatine of Chester, the Earls Palatine, the Chamberlain, and Other Officers.Charles Simms & Co.Retrieved4 May2007.
- The Penny Cyclopedia of the Society for the Dissemination of Useful Knowledge, Volume XXVI.London: Charles Knight & Co. 1843.Retrieved4 May2007.