Geoffrey Osbaldeston (1558-c.1635) was an English-born politician and judge who had a long but rather undistinguished career in Ireland. He was the third son of Edward Osbaldeston of Osbaldeston Hall, a member of an old and prominent

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

family, and Maud, daughter of Sir Thomas Halsall.Ball p.315 The Osbaldestons were related to the Stanleys,

Earls of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

, and Edward seems to have owed his success to their patronage. Edward Osbaldeston, the

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

, was his first cousin. He was educated at

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic halls of the University of Oxford, academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College, Oxford, Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it ...

and entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1577, becoming an Ancient of the Inn (a senior rank, though junior to Reader) in 1593. He sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

as member for Newton in the Parliament of 1597-8.Hesler ''"History of Parliament"'' Alice Spencer

In 1601 Alice, Countess of Derby, who acted as his patroness, lobbied on his behalf to obtain an official position for him in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. In 1605 he was sent there as a justice of the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Ben ...

. He was certainly not the Crown's first choice, being a last minute replacement for

Lewis Prowde Lewis Prowde (c.1560-1617) was an English barrister, judge and politician, who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons as MP for Shrewsbury (UK Parliament constituency), Shrewsbury in the Addled Parliament of 1614.Thrush, Andrew an ...

, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

with a much better reputation for legal ability, who was nominated for the position but never took up office, apparently due to chronic ill-health (Prowde later became a judge in Wales, and an MP in the

Addled Parliament The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I and sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614. Lasting only two months and two days, it saw no bills pass and was not even regarded as a parliament by contemp ...

of 1614).Smyth p.104 Unfortunately for Osbaldeston's future career prospects the

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

Sir Arthur Chichester Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625), known between 1596 and 1613 as Sir Arthur Chichester, of Carrickfergus in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1605 ...

, soon formed a very poor view of his efficiency, and within two years he was moved to the office of Chief Justice of Connacht; a step which was generally seen as a demotion on the ground of his professional incompetence. He served on a number of Crown commissions and wrote a report on the state of

Galway City Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

in 1626. He retired in 1634;Burke p.22 his precise date of death does not seem to be recorded. He married Lucy (or Louisa) Warren, youngest daughter of John Warren of

Poynton Poynton is a town in the civil parish of Poynton-with-Worth, in the Cheshire East district and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England; from 1974 to 2009 it was in Macclesfield district. It is located on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshi ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

and his wife Margaret Molyneux and had three children. Through his daughter Deborah he was the ancestor of the prominent Lyster family of

County Roscommon County Roscommon () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is part of the province of Connacht and the Northern and Western Region. It is the List of Irish counties by area, 11th largest Irish county by area and Li ...

. Richard Osbaldeston,

Attorney General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on ...

, was a cousin of Geoffrey's of the next generation.

References

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 *Burke, Oliver ''Anecdotes of the Connaught Circuit'' Hodges Figgis Dublin 1885 *Hesler, P.W. ed. ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603'' 1981 *Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' London Butterworths 1839

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osbaldeston, Geoffrey English MPs 1597–1598 1558 births Members of Gray's Inn 1630s deaths Justices of the Irish King's Bench Chief justices of Connacht English expatriates in Ireland