Sir Roger Hillary (died 1356) was an English judge. He was one of five sons of William Hillary and his wife Agnes, a landowning family which held properties in

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 ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, and

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, and appear to have been related to Sir William Bereford, the

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 ...

; a useful connection for a nascent lawyer. In 1310 Hillary was recorded as a court attorney, and in 1324 he was made a Serjeant-at-law. In the later years of

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 reign Hillary kept a low profile. In spring 1320 he married Katherine, and added to his property portfolio the Manor of Fisherwick near

Lichfield Lichfield () is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated south-east of the county town of Stafford, north-east of Walsall, north-west of ...

in 1327 and a life-grant of a mill at Bentley at around the same time. After Edward's deposition in 1327 his career began to advance; in 1329 he was made Chief Justice of the Irish Court of Common Pleas, which he held for eight years. His position within the Irish judicial system seems to have been in name only; his commissions in England began to dramatically increase. In 1332 he was tasked with investigating Breakers of the Kings Peace in Staffordshire, and in 1335 he investigated the activities of administrators in the West Midlands. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1336, and on 18 March 1337 he became a justice of the

English Court of Common Pleas The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century aft ...

. In August 1338, he was tasked with investigating the fate of the wealth of

Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel Edmund Fitzalan, 2nd Earl of Arundel (1 May 1285 – 17 November 1326) was an English nobleman prominent in the conflict between King Edward II and his barons. His father, Richard Fitzalan, 1st Earl of Arundel, died in 1302, while Edmund was ...

, who had been executed in 1326, and in 1340 he worked as a tax assessor and collector in

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

and

Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( , ; abbreviated Glos.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Herefordshire to the north-west, Worcestershire to the north, Warwickshire to the north-east, Oxfordshire ...

. In 1341, he was made

to replace Sir John Stonor, who had been removed following a purge of the administration. Stonor was returned to his position in 1342, however, and Hillary was instead made a

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 ...

. In 1344, he was part of a special commission investigating the demands of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

in return for granting a tax, and in 1348 he was appointed a justice for an Eyre 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 ...

, one which never took place. In 1351, he was tasked with enforcing the

Statute of Labourers The Statute of Labourers ( 25 Edw. 3. Stat. 2) was an act of the Parliament of England under King Edward III in 1351 in response to a labour shortage, which aimed at regulating the labour force by prohibiting requesting or offering a wage hig ...

in Worcestershire, and after the retirement of Sir John Stonor in 1354 he was reappointed as Chief Justice, a position he held until his death in 1356.Oxford DNB: Hillary, Sir Roger
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillary, Roger 1356 deaths Chief justices of the common pleas Justices of the common pleas Year of birth unknown Knights Bachelor