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The Exchequer of Pleas, or Court of Exchequer, was a court that dealt with matters of equity, a set of legal principles based on natural law and common law in England and Wales. Originally part of the curia regis, or King's Council, the Exchequer of Pleas split from the curia in the 1190s to sit as an independent central court. The Court of Chancery's reputation for tardiness and expense resulted in much of its business transferring to the Exchequer. The Exchequer and Chancery, with similar jurisdictions, drew closer together over the years until an argument was made during the 19th century that having two seemingly identical courts was unnecessary. As a result, the Exchequer lost its equity jurisdiction. With the Judicature Acts, the Exchequer was formally dissolved as a judicial body by an Order in Council on 16 December 1880.
Henry of Bracton, also Henry de Bracton, also Henricus Bracton, or Henry Bratton also Henry Bretton was an English cleric and jurist.
Sir Ralph de Hengham was an English justice. His first employer was Giles of Erdington a justice of the Common Bench, whose service he entered as a clerk before 1255. By 1260 he had become a clerk for the King's Bench, and later passed into the service of Richard of Middleton, with whom he served on the Eyre circuit of Martin of Littlebury in 1262, and on the circuit led by Middleton himself in 1268–1269. In July 1229 Middleton became the Lord Chancellor, an event which, along with Hengham's own abilities, helped in his rapid rise. He was appointed as a junior justice to the Eyre circuit led by Roger of Seaton in 1271 while only in his mid-thirties, and in 1272 became senior justice to an Eyre circuit of his own. After the death of Henry III brought all Eyre circuits to a halt Hengham was appointed to a central court as a junior justice of the Common Bench starting in Hilary term 1273.
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 after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common Pleas served as one of the central English courts for around 600 years. Authorised by Magna Carta to sit in a fixed location, the Common Pleas sat in Westminster Hall for its entire existence, joined by the Exchequer of Pleas and Court of King's Bench.
William de Raley was a medieval judge, administrator and bishop. Most historians now believe that he was the author of the great law book Bracton.
Simon of Pattishall was an English judge and civil servant who is considered the first Chief Justice of the Common Pleas.
An eyre or iter, sometimes called a general eyre, was the name of a circuit travelled by an itinerant justice in medieval England, or the circuit court over which they presided, or the right of the monarch to visit and inspect the holdings of any vassal. The eyre involved visits and inspections at irregular intervals of the houses of vassals in the kingdom. The term is derived from Old French erre, from Latin iter ("journey"), and is cognate with errand and errant. Eyres were also held in those parts of Ireland under secure English rule.
Henry de Bada was an English judge and administrator.
Roger of Thirkleby was an English judge. The "Thirkleby" of his name was a hamlet in the parish of Kirby Grindalythe, Yorkshire. The first record of his work in the judicial system is in 1230, when he was appointed a clerk of the bench. By the end of 1231 he was a clerk for William de Raley. He remained a clerk until 1242, when he was promoted to justice. He acted as a Puisne Justice until 1249, although he spent large amounts of time on Eyre, serving as chief justice on three eyres in the south-west in 1243 and 1244. Between 1245 and 1252 he and Henry of Bath served as senior Eyre justices, leading Eyre circuits on the brief circuit of 1245, the major country-wide visitation of 1246 to 1249, and a brief circuit of 1251 to 1252, before withdrawing from Eyres to concentrate on work at the bench. In 1249 he was appointed Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in succession to Henry of Bath, a position he held until 1256 when he himself was replaced by Henry. He returned to the job in 1258, serving until his death in 1260.
Sir Martin of Littlebury was a British clerk and justice. He was first recorded in 1242 working as a Kings clerk, although it is assumed that he had been previously working for the government as he was, in 1242, awarded the Moiety of a church in Blackburn, and also given a papal indulgence in February 1245. He was most likely a clerk in service to one of the King's justices, but there is also the possibility that he worked for the clerk of Chancery. Before 1245 he was presented to the parish church at Kirkoswald by Thomas of Moulton, either the Thomas of Moulton who served as a royal justice or his son of the same name. In 1250 he was made Canon of Salisbury Cathedral by William of York, another royal justice.
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 initially followed the monarch on his travels. The King's Bench finally joined the Court of Common Pleas and Exchequer of Pleas in Westminster Hall in 1318, making its last travels in 1421. The King's Bench was merged into the High Court of Justice by the Supreme Court of Judicature Act 1873, after which point the King's Bench was a division within the High Court. The King's Bench was staffed by one Chief Justice and usually three Puisne Justices.
Walter of Pattishall was an English justice and administrator. He was the eldest son of Simon of Pattishall, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and elder brother of Hugh of Pattishall, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. He inherited lands in Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire and elsewhere, and as a result of his marriage to Margery, daughter of Richard d'Argentan, he acquired lands in Bedfordshire. He followed his fathers footsteps and became a justice, although with less success. His first appointment is as an itinerant justice in the South Midlands between 1218 and 1219, followed by occasional service as a royal justice, sitting for the last time in June 1231.
The courts of assize, or assizes, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes exercised both civil and criminal jurisdiction, though most of their work was on the criminal side. The assizes heard the most serious cases, which were committed to it by the quarter sessions, while the more minor offences were dealt with summarily by justices of the peace in petty sessions.
Sir Thomas Canville, also written de Camville, was an Anglo-Norman landowner and judge in medieval England.
Sir John de Lovetot was an administrator and later Justice of the Common Pleas between 1275 and 1289. He had already been knighted when he entered the service of Edward I. Prior to that he had performed administrative duties in Yorkshire, in Norfolk and with the Earl of Oxford, Robert de Vere.
William Basset was an English judge.
Ellis Beckingham, named Ellis of Beckingham in some sources, was a parish priest for Warmington, Northamptonshire, which at the time was under the authority of Peterborough Abbey, and with which Beckingham had a close relationship throughout his life. He both assisted the Abbey legally and increased his wealth through their grants. He was also a royal judge, and is possibly best known for being the only English judge to keep his position when most of his colleagues were dismissed. As a result, he has been called "with one exception the only honest judge" of the time. The dates of his birth and death are unknown, but he is thought to have died in around 1307.
Robert de Scardeburgh was an English judge who also held high judicial office in Ireland.
William de Ormesby was a 13th-14th century English judge. He was the Justice of Scotland between 1296 and 1297 after the invasion of Scotland by England in 1296.
John de Ponz, also called John de Ponte, John Savan, or John of Bridgwater (c.1248-1307) was an English-born administrator, lawyer and judge in the reign of King Edward I. He served in the Royal Household for several years before moving to Ireland, where he practiced in the Royal Courts as the King's Serjeant-at-law (Ireland). He later served as a justice in eyre, and then as a justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland). He was clearly a gifted lawyer, but as a judge he was accused of acting unjustly.
