Sir James Alleyn (died c. 1457) was an Irish judge of the fifteenth century. He held the offices of Speaker of the Irish Privy Council,
[''Patent Roll 22 Henry VI'' ]
Chief Justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland
The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the s ...
and
Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
[
]
Background and early career
Alleyn was born in County Meath,[Ball p.176] he later owned lands. He became a justice of the liberty of Ulster in 1425,[''Patent Roll 3 Henry VI''] and was 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 ...
in the same year.[
In 1427, he was sent to England by the Parliament of Ireland together with the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Henry Fortescue, to complain to 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 ...
of the numerous wrongs suffered by the people of Ireland.[ The Crown ordered that those responsible for the injuries to Fortescue and Alleyn should be punished.][ The mission is generally considered to have been a failure.][
]
Judicial and political career
Alleyn became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1428 but was superseded in 1430.[ We have a record of his attendance at a meeting of the ]Privy Council of Ireland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 ...
in December 1428, which debated the question of whether there was any precedent for the Lord Treasurer of Ireland
The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695.
After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain a ...
appointing a Deputy during his absence in England.[''Close Roll 7 Henry VI'' ]
In 1444, he was Speaker of the Great Council held at Drogheda, which was mainly concerned with ending the Butler-Talbot feud which had bedevilled Irish public life for decades.[ When James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormonde, the ]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 ...
, asked the Council to declare before Robert Manfield, a senior official of the Royal Household, who attended for that purpose, if it had any complaints about his government of the Realm, Alleyn speaking for the entire Council assured Ormond in Manfield's presence that there were no complaints, but that on the contrary, they were entirely grateful for his "good and gracious rule", and his laborious defence of the realm, and that his continued government was necessary for good order.[ Ormond then requested on behalf of the Council that his answers be enrolled in the Chancery rolls, and this was done.][
In 1447, he became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland "in consideration of his good services to King ]Henry V Henry V may refer to:
People
* Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026)
* Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125)
* Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161)
* Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (c. 1173–1227)
* Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (121 ...
and the present King ( Henry VI)", at the usual fee.[ ''Patent Roll Henry VI Vol.5'' (1447)]
He died or retired in 1457.[
]
Sources
*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926
*Betham, William ''Dignities Feudal and Parliamentary and the Constitutional Legislature of the United Kingdom'' William and Thomas Boone London 1830
*''Close and Patent Rolls Henry VI ''
*
*Hawkins, Richard "Alleyn, Sir James" ''Cambridge Dictionary of National Biography''
References
People from County Meath
Lords chief justice of Ireland
Chief Justices of the Irish Common Pleas
Knights Bachelor
{{Ireland-law-bio-stub