Sir Martin of Littlebury (died 1274) was a British clerk and justice. He was first recorded in 1242 working as a Kings clerk, although it is assumed that he had been previously working for the government as he was, in 1242, awarded the

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of a church in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

, and also given a papal indulgence in February 1245. He was most likely a clerk in service to one of the King's justices, but there is also the possibility that he worked for the clerk of Chancery. Before 1245 he was presented to the parish church at Kirkoswald by Thomas of Moulton, either the

Thomas of Moulton Sir Thomas Moulton (died 1240) was an English landowner, knight, admiral and judge during the reigns of King John and King Henry III. From a family with landholdings in the south of Lincolnshire, he was the son and heir of Thomas Moulton (died bef ...

who served as a

royal justice Royal justices were an innovation in the law reforms of the Angevin kings of England. Royal justices were roving officials of the king, sent to seek out notorious robbers and murderers and bring them to justice. The first important step dates fro ...

or his son of the same name. In 1250 he was made Canon of

Salisbury Cathedral Salisbury Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is an Anglican cathedral in Salisbury, England. The cathedral is the mother church of the Diocese of Salisbury and is the seat of the Bishop of Salisbury. The buildi ...

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, another royal justice. In the late 1240s Martin served as an occasional Assize Justice, but did not begin full service as a royal justice until the 1260s. In the first half of 1261 he served as a junior justice on three Eyres led by

Gilbert of Preston Sir Gilbert of Preston (1209–1274) was a British justice. He was the son of Walter of Preston, who was High Sheriff of Northamptonshire between 1206 and 1208. Gilbert acted as a collector of aid in Northamptonshire between 1235 and 1236, and ...

, and became a senior justice on his own Eyre circuit when Eyres resumed in 1262. His final Eyre was in 1263 in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, although the circuit was never completed due to the outbreak of the

Second Barons' War The Second Barons' War (1264–1267) was a civil war in England between the forces of a number of barons led by Simon de Montfort against the royalist forces of King Henry III, led initially by the king himself and later by his son, the fut ...

. He did not serve during the 1264 reign of

Simon de Montford Sir Simon Montford (died circa 30 January 1495) was an English Lord of several manors, who was executed for treason. Simon Montford was the son and heir of Sir Baldwin Montfort, Knt, of Coleshill Manor, Warwickshire (1410-c1458) by his spouse Jo ...

, the "uncrowned King of England", and was not returned to the bench until 1267, when he was appointed

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 ...

. According to official record he was a voice of moderation after the defeat of de Montford at the 1265

Battle of Evesham The Battle of Evesham (4 August 1265) was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by the future King Edward I, who led the ...

, calling for provisions to be made for the widows of those who had died and for the wives of noblemen who had survived but been disinherited. He served as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas until 1272, when on the death of Henry III he was appointed as the

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

, serving less than two years before dying in June 1274.

References

* {{authority control Littlebury, Martin of Littlebury, Martin of Chief Justices of the Common Pleas Littlebury, Martin of Year of birth unknown