Geoffrey Osbaldeston (1558-c.1635) was an English-born politician and judge who had a long but rather undistinguished career in Ireland. He was the third son of Edward Osbaldeston of Osbaldeston Hall, a member of an old and prominent

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

family, and Maud, daughter of Sir Thomas Halsall.Ball p.315 The Osbaldestons were related to the Stanleys,

Earls of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the end ...

, and Edward seems to have owed his success to their patronage.

Edward Osbaldeston Edward Osbaldeston was an English martyr, born about 1560. Не was hanged, drawn and quartered at York, 16 November 1594. Life Edward Osbaldeston was born about 1560 at Osbaldeston Hall near Blackburn, Lancashire. He was the son of Thomas Osba ...

, the

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

, was his first cousin. He was educated at

St Mary Hall, Oxford St Mary Hall was a medieval academic hall of the University of Oxford. It was associated with Oriel College from 1326 to 1545, but functioned independently from 1545 until it was incorporated into Oriel College in 1902. History In 1320, ...

and entered

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

in 1577, becoming an Ancient of the Inn (a senior rank, though junior to Reader) in 1593. He sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

as member for

Newton Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ( ...

in the Parliament of 1597-8.Hesler ''"History of Parliament"'' Alice Spencer

In 1601 Alice, Countess of Derby, who acted as his patroness, lobbied on his behalf to obtain an official position for him in

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. In 1605 he was sent there as a justice of the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The King's Benc ...

. He was certainly not the Crown's first choice, being a last minute replacement for

Lewis Prowde Lewis Prowde (c.1560-1617) was an English barrister, judge and politician, who sat in the House of Commons as MP for Shrewsbury in the Addled Parliament of 1614.Thrush, Andrew and Ferris, John P. editors ''The History of Parliament: the House of Com ...

, a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

with a much better reputation for legal ability, who was nominated for the position but never took up office, apparently due to chronic ill-health (Prowde later became a judge in Wales, and an MP in the

Addled Parliament The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I, which sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614. Lasting only two months and two days, it saw no bills pass and was not even regarded as a Parliament by its c ...

of 1614).Smyth p.104 Unfortunately for Osbaldeston's future career prospects the

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

Sir Arthur Chichester Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625; known between 1596 and 1613 as Sir Arthur Chichester), of Carrickfergus in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 160 ...

, soon formed a very poor view of his efficiency, and within two years he was moved to the office of

Chief Justice of Connacht The Chief Justice of Connacht was the senior of the judges who assisted the Lord President of Connaught in judicial matters. Despite the Chief Justice's title, full judicial powers were vested in the Lord President, whose office was established in ...

; a step which was generally seen as a demotion on the ground of his professional incompetence. He served on a number of Crown commissions and wrote a report on the state of

Galway City Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city o ...

in 1626. He retired in 1634;Burke p.22 his precise date of death does not seem to be recorded. He married Lucy (or Louisa) Warren, youngest daughter of John Warren of

Poynton Poynton is a town in Cheshire, England, on the easternmost fringe of the Cheshire Plain, south-east of Manchester, north of Macclesfield and south of Stockport. Poynton has formed part of the Cheshire East unitary authority since the abolit ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

and his wife Margaret Molyneux and had three children. Through his daughter Deborah he was the ancestor of the prominent Lyster family of

County Roscommon "Steadfast Irish heart" , image_map = Island of Ireland location map Roscommon.svg , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Ireland , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Connacht , subdi ...

Richard Osbaldeston Richard Osbaldeston (1691–1764) was a Church of England clergyman and Bishop of London from 1762 to 1764. Life He was born at Hunmanby in Yorkshire, a younger son of Sir Richard Osbaldeston, a prominent landowner and a rather inactive Member ...

Attorney General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the es ...

, was a cousin of Geoffrey's of the next generation.

References

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 *Burke, Oliver ''Anecdotes of the Connaught Circuit'' Hodges Figgis Dublin 1885 *Hesler, P.W. ed. ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603'' 1981 *Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' London Butterworths 1839

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osbaldeston, Geoffrey English MPs 1597–1598 1558 births Members of Gray's Inn 1630s deaths Justices of the Irish King's Bench Chief Justices of Connacht English expatriates in Ireland