Sir John Stonor SL (1281–1354) was an English judge and the first notable member of the influential Stonor family. He was the son of Richard Stonor, an

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

freeholder, with the family name coming from the village of

Stonor Stonor is a mostly cultivated and wooded village centred north of Henley-on-Thames in South Oxfordshire, England. It takes up part of the Stonor valley in the Chiltern Hills which rises to 120 meters above sea level within this south-east pa ...

. After training as a lawyer he was called to the

Common Bench 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 afte ...

as a

Serjeant-at-law 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 ...

in 1311, being made a

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 ...

in 1315 and a justice of the Common Bench on 16 October 1320. He held this position until 1329, other than a period as a justice for the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...

between July 1323 and 4 May 1324; in 1324 he was also

knighted 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 Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

. On 22 February 1329 he was made

Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

and was made

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...

on 3 September. He was removed from this position on 2 March 1331, however, possibly due to

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

, who replaced important officers after he was crowned; there is, however, no evidence that Stonor was politically active. He was reappointed as Chief Justice on 7 July 1335, but removed on 30 November 1341 after another purge of the administration. He was reappointed yet again on 9 May 1342, making him one of only two Chief Justices to be appointed on three separate occasions. Stonor continued to serve as Chief Justice from 1342 until 22 February 1354, where he left due to weakness, dying the same year. Although most of his time as a justice was at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

, he also served in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

between 1327–1329 and 1334–1336. Other work included special inquiries into the disorders in 1327 at

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...

and

Abingdon Abbey Abingdon Abbey ( '' " St Mary's Abbey " '' ) was a Benedictine monastery located in the centre of Abingdon-on-Thames beside the River Thames. The abbey was founded c.675 AD in honour of The Virgin Mary. The Domesday Book of 1086 informs ...

and in 1335 at

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, official misconduct in 1323 and 1331–1334 and trying rebels in 1323, 1327, and 1331. He was also involved in overseas commissions, including reviewing the trial of Otto Grandson for misadministering

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

in 1319 and diplomatic work in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

in 1324 and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

in 1325.Oxford DNB:Stonor, Sir John
/ref>

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Stonor, John 1281 births 1354 deaths Justices of the King's Bench Chief Justices of the Common Pleas Chief Barons of the Exchequer Knights Bachelor Serjeants-at-law (England) Justices of the Common Pleas