Sir Robert Rede KS (died 7 or 8 January 1519) was an English

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 ...

Biography

Rede was the son of William Rede of Wrangle, Lincolnshire, a

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merchant, and his wife Joan. He was admitted to

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

in 1467, (although he may have previously been a member of Clement's Inn) and gave his first reading there in 1481. In 1486 he was made a Serjeant-at-law, followed by a promotion in 1494 to King's Serjeant, and an appointment in 1495 as a justice of the

Court of King's Bench The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the '' curia regis'', the King's Bench initi ...

, where he sat for 10 years under Sir John Fineux, and was knighted for his services in 1501. He was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas in 1506 and promoted to Chief Justice, a position he held until his death. Rede also served as one of the executors of King Henry VII's will. Rede married the daughter of John Alfegh (or Alphay), a fellow member of Lincoln's Inn, and under the terms of his marriage settlement acquired lands in Hoo. Alfegh had built Bore Place in Chiddingstone,

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 this property later came to Rede and his wife in 1489 under the terms of Alfegh's will. Rede died on 7 or 8 January 1519. He left a £4 annual stipend to finance three lectureships at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, one for logic, one for moral philosophy and one for the humanities. Although these positions had been provided since 1480, the stipend helped secure the position. From 1858 the fund was used to support a single annual lecture, known as the Rede Lecture, a practice that has continued to this day.

Marriage and issue

In the 1470s Rede married Margaret Alfegh, daughter of John Alphegh, by whom he had two sons and five daughters: *Edmund Rede (d.1501), who predeceased his father. *John Rede, who became a member of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

, and predeceased his father. *Mary Rede, who married Sir William Barantyne. *Jane Rede, who married John Caryll (d.1523), Serjeant-at-law. *Bridget Rede (d.1558), who married Thomas Willoughby (d.1545) (the son of Sir Christopher Willoughby, ''de jure'' 10th Baron Willoughby de Eresby) of Lincoln's Inn,

Justice of the Common Pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas (England), Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court o ...

. She inherited Bore Place under her father's will. Bridget married secondly Anthony Knyvett. *Dorothy Rede, who married Sir Edward Wotton (d.1551) of Lincoln's Inn. She inherited a house in St. Sepulchre's, London, under her father's will. *Elizabeth Rede, a nun at

West Malling West Malling ( , historically Town Malling) is a market town in the Tonbridge and Malling district of Kent, England. It has a population of 2,590. Landmarks West Malling contains several historic buildings, including St Leonard's Tower, West ...

Notes

References

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External links

Will of Sir Robert Rede, Chief Justice of the Pleas, proved 24 January 1519, PROB 11/19/190, National Archives
Retrieved 10 October 2013

Retrieved 10 October 2013 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rede, Robert Chief justices of the common pleas Knights Bachelor Justices of the King's Bench Serjeants-at-law (England) People from Wiltshire 15th-century births Year of birth missing 1519 deaths 15th-century English people 16th-century English judges 16th-century English lawyers People from the Borough of Boston People from Chiddingstone