Sir Ralph Sandwich (1235–1308) (also known as Rauf de Sanduiz, Ralph de Sandwich and Ralph of Sandwich), of Dene (in Margate), Ham, and Ripple, Kent, Winchfield, Hampshire, etc., was an English administrator and justice. He was Steward of the King's Demesne, Constable of Canterbury (1278), and Royal Warden (Lord Mayor) of London (1286, 1288–1293).

Biography

He was the son of Simon of Sandwich, the brother of clergyman

Henry of Sandwich Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainment ...

, and Gillian Sandwich. His family had close connections with

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester ( – 4 August 1265), also known as Simon V de Montfort, was an English nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the baronial opposition to the rule of ...

, and his uncle's links with Montfort's administration is most likely what brought Ralph into government. By September 1264 he had become part of the captive King's household, and on 1 January 1265 he became

Master of the Great Wardrobe The King's Wardrobe, together with the Chamber, made up the personal part of medieval English government known as the King's household. Originally the room where the king's clothes, armour, and treasure were stored, the term was expanded to des ...

. On 7 May he was made Keeper of the Great Seal, although without the governmental position which accompanied it. He was only allowed to use it for routine writs, otherwise the presence of

Peter de Montfort Peter de Montfort (or Piers de Montfort) (c. 1205 – 4 August 1265) of Beaudesert Castle was an English magnate, soldier and diplomat. He is the first person recorded as having presided over Parliament as a ''parlour'' or ''prolocutor'', an off ...

and two others was required. On 4 August 1265, Sandwich was captured at the

Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led t ...

fighting on the losing side for de Montfort. His lands were confiscated and given to

Roger de Leybourne Sir Roger de Leybourne (1215–1271) was an English soldier, landowner and royal servant during the Second Barons' War. Origins Roger was the younger son of another Sir Roger de Leybourne, by his first wife, Eleanor, the daughter and heires ...

and his father's lands awarded to Leybourne's son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, who also married Juliana de Sandwich (1245-1327) on 16 October 1265; she was the daughter of Sir Henry de Sandwich (died c. 1249). After his pardon in 1266, Sandwich maintained a relationship with the Leybourne family, acting as a lawyer to Roger's widow in 1272 and executing her will in 1276. After the death of his uncle Henry of Sandwich in 1273, he was made administrator of the

See of London See or SEE may refer to: * Visual perception Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Televisio ...

, having already acted as their administrator during Henry's exile in

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, ...

. In November 1273 he was appointed to audit the accounts of the

Constable of Dover Castle Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports is the name of a ceremonial post in the United Kingdom. The post dates from at least the 12th century, when the title was Keeper of the Coast, but it may be older. The Lord Warden was originally in charge of the ...

, and in 1274 was summoned to attend the coronation of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

. In November 1275 he was one of three men appointed as a Steward of the King's

Demesne A demesne ( ) or domain was all the land retained and managed by a lord of the manor under the feudal system for his own use, occupation, or support. This distinguished it from land subinfeudation, sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants. ...

, with his responsibilities being the counties of the south and west. The post, which involved large amounts of travel, handling of huge sums of money (over £7000 between 1277 and 1279) and the supervision of large building works at

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

Banstead Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in Surrey, England. It is south of Sutton, London, Sutton, south-west of Croydon, north of Reigate, south-east of Kingston-upon-Thames, and south of Central London. On the North Dow ...

, and

Odiham Odiham () is a large historic village and civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The 2011 population was 4,406. The parish in 1851 had an area of 7,354 acres ...

, completely exhausted one of his colleagues. He also acted as Keeper of the

Port of Dover The Port of Dover is a cross-channel ferry, cruise terminal, maritime cargo and marina facility situated in Dover, Kent, south-east England. It is the nearest English port to France, at just away, and is one of the world's busiest maritime pas ...

, Keeper of the

Forest of Dean The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the Counties of England, county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangle, triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and no ...

and administrator of the

See of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop was Augustine of C ...

during the 1278–1279 vacancy. In 1280 he was appointed to negotiate for the site of New Winchelsea. A member of the King's council, Sandwich was in 1278 appointed justice ''coram rege'' (in the presence of the King) for when the king was in

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, and was with the judges when

Alexander III of Scotland Alexander III (; Modern Gaelic: ; 4 September 1241 – 19 March 1286) was King of Alba (Scotland) from 1249 until his death. He concluded the Treaty of Perth, by which Scotland acquired sovereignty over the Western Isles and the Isle of Man. ...

paid homage in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in October. In 1285 Edward took direct control of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, appointing Sandwich as Warden of London on 1 July and

Constable of the Tower The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the Middle Ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner—the king or a nobleman—was not in residence. The Constable of the Tower had a ...

on 10 September. Until 1293 Sandwich was the effective

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom. The current ...

, and presided over the city's Court of Hustings. He was appointed

Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas The chief justice of the common pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas (England), Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench, which was the second-highest Common law#History, common law court in the English law, English lega ...

in 1289 after the previous holder, Sir Thomas Weyland, became a fugitive 'until the king makes further provision', and stepped down in 1290 after a replacement was found. Between 1286 and 1307 he sat every year as a justice at the original

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, and sat as a justice at the trial of

William Wallace Sir William Wallace (, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army at the Battle of St ...

Westminster Hall Westminster Hall is a medieval great hall which is part of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. It was erected in 1097 for William II (William Rufus), at which point it was the largest hall in Europe. The building has had various functio ...

in 1305. He attended

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

's coronation in February 1308, and on 24 March turned the custody of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

over to John Cromwell. He died before 20 August and was buried in Greyfriars Church. In 1309 Henry de Eynesford, Nicholas de Sandwich, Thomas de Boynton, and William de Berton, clerk, executors of the will of Ralph de Sandwich, deceased were summoned to answer William de Carleton, Baron of the Exchequer, and his associates, executors of the will of William, Bishop of Norwich, deceased regarding a debt of £40.Exchequer of Plea Rolls, 33, image 27f (available a
AALT website
. By an unknown first wife, he appears to have had a daughter, Desirée (or Desiderata) (living 1330–1), wife of Geoffrey de Lucy, Knt. He married (2nd) Maud, widow of Thomas de Belhouse, who survived him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sandwich, Ralph 1235 births 1308 deaths Lord chancellors of England Chief justices of the common pleas 13th-century mayors of London Recipients of English royal pardons