The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the

county palatine In England, Wales and Ireland a county palatine or palatinate was an area ruled by a hereditary nobleman enjoying special authority and autonomy from the rest of a kingdom. The name derives from the Latin adjective ''palātīnus'', "relating t ...

of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine (which encompassed

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 ...

, the City of

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, and

Flintshire Flintshire () is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, the Dee Estuary to the north-east, the English county of Cheshire to the east, Wrexham County Borough to the south, and Denbighshire to the west. ...

), the Justice enjoyed the jurisdiction possessed in England by the Court of Common Pleas and the King's Bench. While the legal reorganisation of Wales and the

Marches In medieval Europe, a march or mark was, in broad terms, any kind of borderland, as opposed to a state's "heartland". More specifically, a march was a border between realms or a neutral buffer zone under joint control of two states in which diffe ...

under

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

diminished the authority of the

Earl of Chester The Earldom of Chester () was one of the most powerful earldoms in medieval England, extending principally over the counties of Cheshire and Flintshire. Since 1301 the title has generally been granted to heirs apparent to the English throne, ...

(i.e., the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

) 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 Denbighshire ( ; ) is a county in the north-east of Wales. It borders the Irish Sea to the north, Flintshire to the east, Wrexham to the southeast, Powys to the south, and Gwynedd and Conwy to the west. Rhyl is the largest town, and Ruthi ...

, and

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

were made part of the Chester circuit, over which the Justice presided. Under

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

, a second justice was added to each of the Welsh circuits, after which the senior and junior justice are generally referred to as the Chief Justice of Chester and the Second or Puisne Justice of Chester. Because the Cheshire justices were free to practise as

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 ...

s in the English courts or sit in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, the post of Chief Justice was often awarded as a form of

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

by the Government to aspiring lawyers. The offices of Chief and

Puisne Justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

were abolished in 1830, as part of reforms that also brought Wales under the jurisdiction of the courts at Westminster.

Justices of Chester

*Philip Orreby 1202–29 *John de Grey c.1246 *William de Vernon 1229–?1236 *Richard de Vernon *Earl of Lincoln * John Lestrange 1241-1245 *John Grey 1245-1249 *Alan la Zouche 1250–1255 *Gilbert Talbot 1255– *Roger de Montalt/Mohaut (aka Mold) 1258–1259 *Fulk de Orreby 1259–1261 *Thomas de Orreby 1261–1262 *William la Zouche 1262– *Luke de Thaney c.1265 *James de Audley c.1265 *

Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey de Wilton Reginald de Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Wilton (c. 1240 – 5 April 1308) was an English nobleman after whom one of the four Inns of Court is named. He was son of Sir John de Grey and grandson of Henry de Grey. The property upon which Gray's Inn si ...

c.1270 *Robert de Ufford c.1276– *Guncelin Badelesmere 1276-79 *

1281-1290 *

c.1297 * Richard Massy c.1300 * Robert Holland, 1st Baron Holand c.1307–c.1320 *Pain de Tibetot c.1311 * Richard Daumary c.1325 *

William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon William de Clinton, 1st Earl of Huntingdon (c.1304 – 31 October 1354) and Lord High Admiral, was the younger son of John de Clinton, 1st Baron Clinton (d.1312/13) of Maxstoke Castle, Warwickshire, and Ida de Odingsells, the granddaughter of ...

c.1330 *Hugh de Freyne c.1335 *

Henry Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers of Groby Henry Ferrers, 2nd Baron Ferrers (c.1303-15 Sep 1343) was the son of William Ferrers, 1st Baron Ferrers of Groby and his wife Ellen. Henry Ferrers has been described by one recent historian as "arguably the most successful member of his family" on ...

1336–1342 *Thomas de Felton 1369–1381 * Sir John Holland 1381–1385 *

Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York (5 June 1341 – 1 August 1402) was the fifth son (fourth surviving) of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Like many medieval English princes, Edmund gained his nickname from his birthplace: ...

1385–1387 *

Robert de Vere, Duke of Ireland Robert de Vere, 9th Earl of Oxford, KG (16 January 1362 – 22 November 1392) was a favourite and court companion of King Richard II of England. He was the ninth Earl of Oxford and the first Duke of Ireland and the only Marquess of Dublin. ...

1387–1388 *

Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester Thomas of Woodstock, Duke of Gloucester (7 January 13558 or 9 September 1397) was the fifth surviving son and youngest child of King Edward III of England and Philippa of Hainault. Early life Thomas was born on 7 January 1355 at Woodstock Pal ...

1388–1391 *

John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, 1st Earl of Huntingdon ( 1352 – 16 January 1400) of Dartington Hall in Devon, was a half-brother of King Richard II (1377–1399), to whom he remained strongly loyal. He is primarily remembered for being suspe ...

1391–1394 *

Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the ...

1394–1398 *

William le Scrope, 1st Earl of Wiltshire William le Scrope, Earl of Wiltshire, King of Mann (c. 1350 – 29 July 1399) was a close supporter of King Richard II of England. He was a second son of Richard le Scrope, 1st Baron Scrope of Bolton. He was the third and final king of an inde ...

1398–1399 * Henry Percy 1400–1403 *

Gilbert Talbot, 5th Baron Talbot Gilbert Talbot, 5th Baron Talbot, 8th Baron Strange of Blackmere, KG (1383 – 19 October 1418) of Blakemere, Whitchurch, Shropshire, was an English Knight of the Garter. He was born the eldest son of Richard Talbot, 4th Baron Talbot, and Ank ...

1403–1419 *

Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter Thomas Beaufort, Duke of Exeter (c. January 137731 December 1426) was an English military commander during the Hundred Years' War, and briefly Chancellor of England. He was the third of the four children born to John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, ...

1420–1427 *

Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester Humphrey of Lancaster, Duke of Gloucester (3 October 1390 – 23 February 1447) was an English prince, soldier and literary patron. He was (as he styled himself) "son, brother and uncle of kings", being the fourth and youngest son of Henry IV ...

1427–1440 *

William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk (16 October 1396 – 2 May 1450), nicknamed Jackanapes, was an English magnate, statesman and military commander during the Hundred Years' War. He became a favourite of Henry VI of England, and consequent ...

1440–1450 (jointly from 1443, murdered 1450)) * Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley 1443–1459 (jointly to 1450) * John Talbot, 2nd Earl of Shrewsbury 1459–1460 (KIA 1460) *''in commission'' 1460 *John Needham 1461 *

Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby Thomas Stanley, 1st Earl of Derby, KG (1435 – 29 July 1504) was an English nobleman. He was the stepfather of King Henry VII of England. He was the eldest son of Thomas Stanley, 1st Baron Stanley and Joan Goushill. A landed magnate of im ...

1461–1471 * Richard, Duke of Gloucester 1471 *

1471–1504 * Sir Thomas Englefield 1505–1514? * Sir Nicholas Hare 1540–1545 * Sir Robert Townshend 1545–1557 * Sir John Pollard 1557 *George Wood Esq.1558 of Hall atte Wood, Balterley, Staffordshire * John Throckmorton 1558–1578 * Sir George Bromley 1564–1589 *Richard Shuttleworth 1589–1592 * Sir Richard Lewknor 1592–1616

Chief and Puisne Justices of Chester

''Offices abolished 1830''

References

Bibliography

* * {{Judiciary of England and Wales, state=collapsed Chester Judiciary of England and Wales Lists of British people