Sir John Radcliffe (died 1441), of

Attleborough Attleborough is a market town and civil parish located on the A11 between Norwich and Thetford in Norfolk, England. The parish is in the district of Breckland and has an area of . The 2001 Census recorded the town as having a population of 9 ...

, was an English

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of 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. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

and administrator who served as

Seneschal of Gascony The Seneschal of Gascony was an officer carrying out and managing the domestic affairs of the lord of the Duchy of Gascony. During the course of the twelfth century, the seneschalship, also became an office of military command. After 1360, the off ...

, 2nd Baron of the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland) or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of justic ...

, Joint Chief Butler of Ireland, Bailli of Evreux and Constable of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. He represented

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in 1420 and 1427.

Life

Radcliffe was the younger son of James Radcliffe of

Radcliffe Radcliffe or Radcliff may refer to: Places * Radcliffe Line, a border between India and Pakistan United Kingdom * Radcliffe, Greater Manchester ** Radcliffe Tower, the remains of a medieval manor house in the town ** Radcliffe tram stop * ...

, Lancashire and Joan Tempest. John spent his early years in the entourage of

Thomas of Lancaster Thomas of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Lancaster, 2nd Earl of Leicester, 2nd Earl of Derby, ''jure uxoris'' 4th Earl of Lincoln and ''jure uxoris'' 5th Earl of Salisbury (c. 1278 – 22 March 1322) was an English nobleman. A member of the House of Pl ...

. He is described as Thomas's Secretary, and went with him to Ireland in 1401, when Thomas was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the Kingdo ...

. He was appointed second Baron of the Irish Court of Exchequer in 1404.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 p.172 It is unclear if he had any legal qualifications: despite their senior judicial office, Irish Barons were not then invariably lawyers. He was appointed in April 1406, Joint Chief Butler of Ireland by Thomas. John died in 1441 and was buried at Attleborough church, Norfolk, England.

Marriage and issue

Radcliffe married firstly, Cecilia, daughter of Thomas Mortimer and Mary Parke. The marriage brought him considerable wealth and an increase in his social standing. She was a maternal half-sister of Sir

John Fastolf Sir John Fastolf (6 November 1380 – 5 November 1459) was a late medieval English landowner and knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War. He has enjoyed a more lasting reputation as the prototype, in some part, of Shakespeare's charac ...

and mother of Sir Robert Harling. They are known to have had the following issue: *John Radcliffe *Thomas Radcliffe *Fynette Radcliffe *Roger Radcliffe He married secondly, Catherine, daughter of Edward Burnell and Alice Le Strange, they are known to have had the following issue: *James Radcliffe *Robert Radcliffe *Alicia Radcliffe

Life

Marriage and issue

References

Further reading