Sir Thomas Bryan
KS KB (died 14 August 1500) was a British justice of obscure origin. It is suggested by J.H. Baker (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography) that he descended from a John Bryan, fishmonger of London, whose son, also John (d. 1418), owned land in Buckinghamshire & London, as did Sir Thomas.
Bryan assumed arms similar to those of
Guy De Bryan when he became a person of some importance; but a direct descent is unlikely, as the male line of this family became extinct with the death of Sir William de Bryan of Seale in 1395, without issue.
He began his legal studies in the 1440s, becoming a student at
Gray's Inn, progressing rapidly; by 1456 he was already a
Bencher, and was acting as a
Feoffee for the Inn. He was at this point serving as legal counsel for various London companies, including as a steward for
St Bartholomew's Hospital in 1459.
He was appointed
Common Serjeant of London in 1460, a position he held until he was created
Serjeant-at-law in 1463, followed by a further promotion to
King's Serjeant in 1470. After the accession of
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
in 1471 Bryan was made
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and was appointed a
Knight of the Bath in 1475. Bryan served as Chief Justice for 29 years until his death, the longest period of service up to that point.
He died on 14 August 1500, leaving a son, another
Sir Thomas Bryan, whose son
Francis Bryan became
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland and was known as the "Vicar of Hell".
Family
He was married to Margaret Bowsey.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Thomas
Chief Justices of the Common Pleas
Knights of the Bath
Common Serjeants of London
Serjeants-at-law (England)
1500 deaths
Thomas
People of the Tudor period
15th-century births
Year of birth unknown
15th-century English judges