Hervey de Stanton (or Staunton) (1260 – November 1327) was an English judge (serving both as

Chief Justice of the King's Bench The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

and as

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the common pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench, which was the second-highest common law Common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body ...

) and

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and the head of HM Treasury, His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, t ...

Origins and early career

He was a descendant of Sir William de Staunton, or Stanton, of Staunton,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, by Athelina, daughter and co-heiress of John de Masters of Bassingham,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

. He seems to have held the living of

Soham Soham ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of East Cambridgeshire, in Cambridgeshire, England, just off the A142 road, A142 between Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely and Newmarket, Suffolk, Newmarket. Its population ...

, as early as 1289; afterwards he held the livings of Thurston and Werbeton, and about 1306, on being ordained priest, received the living of East Dereham. In November 1300 there is mention of him as going to the court of

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Judicial advancement

He was a justice itinerant in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

in 1302 and in Durham in 1303. In the parliament of September 1305 he was a receiver of petitions from

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 ...

and

Guernsey Guernsey ( ; Guernésiais: ''Guernési''; ) is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited isl ...

, and on 20 April 1306 was appointed one of the judges of the

common pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

. On the accession of Edward II, Stanton was reappointed to the common pleas, and is frequently mentioned in judicial commissions.

Chancellor of the Exchequer and Chief Justice

On 28 September 1314, he was appointed one of the barons of the

exchequer In the Civil Service (United Kingdom), civil service of the United Kingdom, His Majesty's Exchequer, or just the Exchequer, is the accounting process of central government and the government's ''Transaction account, current account'' (i.e., mon ...

, and on 22 June 1316

, but continued to act as a judge, and was regularly summoned to parliament with the other judges. In 1323 he was made

chief justice of the king's bench The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

, and directed to discharge his duties at the exchequer by a substitute. On 27 March 1324, Stanton resigned the chief justiceship, and on 26 March was reappointed chancellor of the exchequer. He resigned the latter post on 18 July 1326, when he was appointed

. Stanton seems to have sided with Edward II, and in September Queen Isabella seized eight hundred marks which he had deposited at

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

. He was not reappointed on the accession of

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring royal authority after t ...

, and the proceedings of an ''iter'' he had held at London were reversed.

Foundation of Michaelhouse

As prebend of Husthwaite,

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

, and parson of East Dereham, he is mentioned as receiving protection on 30 January and 11 February 1327. On 2 March he had licence to alienate in

mortmain Mortmain () is the perpetual, inalienable ownership of real estate by a corporation or legal institution; the term is usually used in the context of its prohibition. Historically, the land owner usually would be the religious office of a church ...

the manor and

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

of Barenton to the masters and scholars of St Michael's, Cambridge. Stanton died in 1327, before he could give effect to his foundation, and the licence was renewed to his executors. He was buried in the church of St Michael, Cambridge; during the relaying of the chancel floor in the 1850s, de Stanton's sarcophagus was unearthed. His foundation of

Michaelhouse Michaelhouse is a full boarding senior school for boys founded in 1896. It is located in the Balgowan, KwaZulu-Natal, Balgowan valley in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands, Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The Spear’s Schools Index 2025 reco ...

was eventually absorbed in Trinity College, where Stanton is still commemorated as a benefactor and a memorial chapel survives.

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20071031050126/http://www.ely.anglican.org/parishes/camgsm/sermons/S2002m/cb1sermon.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Stanton, Hervey de 1260 births 1327 deaths People from Newark and Sherwood (district) Chancellors of the Exchequer of England Chief justices of the common pleas Lord chief justices of England and Wales Trinity College, Cambridge Justices of the common pleas