Stephen de Segrave (or Seagrove or Stephen Segrave or Stephen of Seagrave) (c. 1171 – 9 November 1241) was a medieval Chief Justiciar of England.

Life

He was born as the son of a certain Gilbert de Segrave of Segrave in

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

, who had been High Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire in 1193. Stephen became a

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 was made

constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

in 1220. He obtained lands and held various positions under Henry III. From 1221 to 1223 he served as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire and

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, from 1222 to 1224 as

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilitie ...

, from 1228 to 1234 as

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. One sheriff was appointed for both counties from 1125 until the end of 1575 (except for 1165–1166), after which separate sheriffs were appointed. See High Sheriff of Bedfordshire an ...

and from 1229 to 1234 as High Sheriff of Warwickshire,

and

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. In 1236, he became castellan of Beeston Castle and Chester Castle, jointly with

Hugh de Spencer Hugh may refer to: *Hugh (given name) Noblemen and clergy French * Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks * Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II * Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...

and

Henry de Aldithley Henry Audley (or Aldithel or Alditheley; c. 1175–1246) was an English baron. Audley was a royalist baron, born about 1175 to Adam de Alditheley and Emma, daughter of Ralph/Radulphus fitzOrm. His father Adam held Alditheley (Staffordshire) from ...

. He was given the manor where

Caludon Castle Caludon Castle is a Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building in Coventry, in the West Midlands of England. A second moated site to the south is a Scheduled Ancient Monument in its own right. The castle is now a ruin, and all th ...

was built, at Wyken near

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

in 1232 or earlier, by

Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln (1170–26 October 1232), known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester (in the second lineage of the title after the original family line was broken after the 2nd Earl), w ...

. Ranulph also granted him

Bretby Bretby is a village and civil parish in the south of Derbyshire, England, north of Swadlincote and east of Burton upon Trent, on the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The population of the civil parish as of the 2011 census was 893. T ...

in 1209. In 1232, he succeeded Hubert de Burgh as chief justiciar of England.Powicke ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 70 He officiated at the trial of de Burgh, in November 1232, which has been called the "first state trial" in England. As an active coadjutor of Peter des Roches,

bishop of Winchester The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...

, Segrave incurred some share of the opprobrium which was lavished on the Poitevin royal favourites of

Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of King John and Isabella of Angoulême, Henry a ...

. In 1234, he was deprived of his office as Justiciar. Soon, however, he was again occupying an influential position at Henry's court, and he retained this until his death. However, uncertain about his personal safety, he became a canon at Leicester Abbey, where he died on 9 November 1241, and was buried.

Family

He married twice; firstly to Rohese le Despencer, daughter of Thomas Despenser, who bore him a son, Sir Gilbert de Segrave in 1202, and secondly to Ida de Hastings, daughter of William de Hastings and Margery Bigod of Norfolk. Gilbert died at Pons in the Prerogative County of Poitiers (''Comte apanage de Poitiers (de Poitou)''), in the province of

Saintonge Saintonge may refer to: *County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast *Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province Places *Saint-Genis-de-Saintonge, a commune in the Charente-Mari ...

, in a region controlled by the

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

, on 8 October 1254, following his capture during a campaign in

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

. His grandson,

Nicholas Nicholas is a male given name and a surname. The Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and the Anglicanism, Anglican Churches celebrate Saint Nicholas every year on December 6, which is the name day for "Nicholas". In Greece, the n ...

, was 1st Baron, Segrave which is now Mowbray.Stourton, A.J. (1876) ''5 papers relating to ... Mowbray and Segrave'' Oxford University pg 17 (vi
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Notes

References

British History Online: Caludon
Retrieved 7 September 2007

Retrieved 7 September 2007 *

Retrieved 7 September 2007 * Powicke, F. Maurice and E. B. Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' 2nd. ed. London:Royal Historical Society 1961
The Saint-Amand Connection Lines
Retrieved 7 September 2007
PDF South Derbyshire site – Grant of Bretby
Retrieved 7 September 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Segrave, Stephen de 1170s births 1241 deaths People from Leicestershire Justiciars of England High Sheriffs of Hertfordshire High Sheriffs of Essex High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire High Sheriffs of Leicestershire High Sheriffs of Warwickshire High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire Sheriffs of Warwickshire