John Estrete, or Strete (died c.1491) was an Irish judge, author, law lecturer and statesman of the late fifteenth century. He held the offices of

King's Serjeant A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

, Deputy

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). The Irish Court of Exchequer was a mirror of the equivalent court in England and was one of the four courts which sat in the buildin ...

, and Master of the

Coinage Coinage may refer to: * Coins, standardized as currency * Neologism, coinage of a new word * ''COINage'', numismatics magazine * Tin coinage, a tax on refined tin * Protologism, coinage of a seldom used new term See also * Coining (disambiguatio ...

of Ireland. He was a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.187 He wrote at least one legal textbook,'' Natura Brevium''. He was a supporter of

Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare KG (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 149 ...

, who was almost all-powerful in Ireland for many years and was prepared to defy the English Crown on occasion. Despite his close connection to Kildare, Estrete in time gained the confidence of the

English Crown This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...

, and acted as an intermediary between the Crown and Kildare, notably during the rebellion of

Lambert Simnel Lambert Simnel (c. 1477 – after 1534) was a pretender to the throne of England. In 1487, his claim to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, threatened the newly established reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). Simnel became the f ...

in 1487.Ball p.107

Family

The Estrete (or Strete) family were prosperous citizens of fifteenth-century

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, who later acquired lands in

Louth Louth may refer to: Australia *Hundred of Louth, a cadastral unit in South Australia * Louth, New South Wales, a town * Louth Bay, a bay in South Australia **Louth Bay, South Australia, a town and locality Canada * Louth, Ontario Ireland * Cou ...

and Meath. The name is generally thought to be an early form of Street. John was the son of John Estrete senior and his wife Joanna (Jeneta). He was married and had four sons and two daughters, but by 1488 only two of his children, George and Katherine, were still alive. It is unclear whether the John Estrete senior referred to in

deed In common law, a deed is any legal instrument in writing which passes, affirms or confirms an interest, right, or property and that is signed, attested, delivered, and in some jurisdictions, sealed. It is commonly associated with transferring ...

s of 1480 and 1481 was the father or the son (the elder John Estrete died before 1488).

Career

Early years

He is known to have been practising in the Irish

courts of common law A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

by 1477.Hart, A.R. ''History of the King's Serjeant at law in Ireland'' Round Hall Press Dublin 2000 pp. 24–5 In 1478 he went to England, received a

royal pardon In the English and British tradition, the royal prerogative of mercy is one of the historic royal prerogatives of the British monarch, by which they can grant pardons (informally known as a royal pardon) to convicted persons. The royal preroga ...

for an unspecified offence, and was appointed King's Sergeant in Ireland. He probably owed this appointment to the influence of Gerald FitzGerald, the "Great Earl of Kildare", who was then beginning his effective control of the Irish Government, which he dominated with short intervals for 35 years. In about 1481 Estrete had the management of the customs duties for the Port of

Drogheda Drogheda ( , ; , meaning "bridge at the ford") is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, north of Dublin. It is located on the Dublin–Belfast corridor on the east coast of Ireland, mostly in County Louth ...

. In 1483 a

statute A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...

of the Irish Parliament gave him first charge over any payment out of the revenues from the

cocket A seal is a device for making an impression in wax, clay, paper, or some other medium, including an embossment on paper, and is also the impression thus made. The original purpose was to authenticate a document, or to prevent interference with a ...

(the official

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

) and customs of Dublin.''Statute 22 Edward IV'' In 1480 he bought land in County Meath from Simon Walshe and his wife Juliana. He owned a house on

Fishamble Street Fishamble Street (; ) is a street in Dublin, Ireland within the old city walls. Location The street joins Wood Quay at the Fish Slip near Fyan's Castle. It originally ran from Castle Street to Essex Quay until the creation of Lord Edward Stre ...

in the old city, which he sold to Philip Fleming in 1485.Leslie, Canon J.B ''An Old Dublin Vestry Book'' 1943 Fishamble Street is a street in Dublin within the old city walls

Fishamble Street is a street in Dublin within the old city walls

Law school

As King's Serjeant, he was notable for running an elementary law school, at a time when members of the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...

were required to obtain their formal education at the

Inns of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They have ...

in London. Sir William Darcy, the Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, recalled in later life that in 1482–83 he and other law students had spent the law terms at Estrete's house in Dublin, studying those English legal texts which were required reading for law students who intended to qualify at the Bar, and which would prepare them to proceed to the Inns of Court. Among these texts was one by Estrete himself, ''Natura Brevium'', which has not survived. Estrete also taught them

Law French Law French ( nrf, Louai Français, enm, Lawe Frensch) is an archaic language originally based on Old Norman and Anglo-Norman, but increasingly influenced by Parisian French and, later, English. It was used in the law courts of England, be ...

(the official language of the law courts until the seventeenth century), and Darcy was still writing it fluently fifty years later.Ellis, Stephen G. "Darcy, Sir William" ''Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography'' 2009

Under Richard III

Estrete remained in office as King's Serjeant when

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 ...

was succeeded (after a short hiatus) by his brother

Richard III Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...

in 1483. The King was unwilling to confirm Estrete's patron, the Earl of Kildare, as

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 ...

, and Kildare sent Estrete to England to plead his case to be retained as Deputy for ten years, and also demanded a salary of £1000 a year and several grants of land. Richard would do nothing until Kildare came to see him personally, and the Earl reluctantly complied. This episode probably established Estrete's role as an intermediary between Kildare and the English Crown. The King's letter of instructions to Estrete, which was to be shown to Kildare, survives.

Lambert Simnel

After Richard's downfall at the

Battle of Bosworth The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...

in 1485, the new King Henry VII confirmed Estrete in office as Serjeant. He travelled to London in 1486 and had a personal audience with the King. He was still in England, and still in touch with the King, the following year. When the

Yorkist The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...

pretender A pretender is someone who claims to be the rightful ruler of a country although not recognized as such by the current government. The term is often used to suggest that a claim is not legitimate.Curley Jr., Walter J. P. ''Monarchs-in-Waiting'' ...

to the Crown, Lambert Simnel, appeared in Ireland in 1487 Kildare was his strongest supporter, and encouraged him to invade England and seize the throne. The King sent Estrete to Dublin with an invitation to Kildare to come to England to discuss his position; it appears that Henry was prepared to grant roughly the same terms which Kildare had demanded from Richard III. Kildare did not respond to the offer, and Simnel with an army raised by Kildare invaded England, only to see his cause crushed at the

Battle of Stoke Field The Battle of Stoke Field on 16 June 1487 may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims derived from descent from the houses of Lancaster and Yo ...

in June 1487.

Later years

While Simnel's supporters, including Kildare and his powerful father-in-law

Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester (c. 1430 – 19 December 1496) was an Irish peer, statesman and judge. He was one of the dominant political figures in late fifteenth-century Ireland, rivalled in influence probably only by his son-in-law ...

, were forced to sue for a

for their

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

, which was granted in 1488, Estrete was regarded as a reliable King's man, who was described as "the King's servant and counsellor". He was appointed Master of the Irish Coinage and a Privy Councillor: Chrimes in his biography of Henry VII states that he was appointed to the

,Chrimes p. 258 but other historians state that as a mark of special royal favour he was made an English councillor. Certainly the King, who was not as a rule overly generous even to his most loyal supporters, called Estrete "a man worthy of reward". His highest office in Ireland was Deputy Chief Baron: Lord Portlester had used his influence to obtain the office of Chief Baron for his son

Oliver FitzEustace Oliver FitzEustace ( died after 1491) was an Irish judge. His appointment as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was a surprising one since according to the leading historian of the Irish judiciary he appears to have been unable to speak. Oliver w ...

, who was mentally deficient, with the right to appoint his deputy. Estrete held office from 1487 until 1491, when he probably died.

Christ Church Cathedral

In 1485 Estrete established a

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...

Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin Christ Church Cathedral, more formally The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity, is the cathedral of the United Dioceses of Dublin and Glendalough and the cathedral of the ecclesiastical province of the United Provinces of Dublin and Cashel in the ( ...

, where he endowed a priest to sing masses for the souls of his benefactors, Kildare and Portlester. In 1488 the grant was extended to provide for masses for the souls of the King, and for Estrete's parents, his brothers Patrick and Christopher, and his living and deceased children. Mass was to be sung every day in the Chapel of

St Laurence O'Toole ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

, with a high mass once a week. After Estrete's own death, mass was to be sung for him every year.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Estrete, John 15th-century Irish politicians 15th-century Irish judges Lawyers from Dublin (city) 1490s deaths Year of birth unknown Chief Barons of the Irish Exchequer Serjeants-at-law (Ireland) Politicians from Dublin (city)