Stephen de Bray (died 1441) was an Irish judge, who was notable for his lengthy tenure as

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge i ...

. He was probably the son of the elder Stephen de Bray who also held high judicial office in Ireland, being appointed

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). The Irish Court of Exchequer was a mirror of the equivalent court in England and was one of the four courts which sat in the buildin ...

in 1376 and

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas 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 ...

in 1380. Little is known of their background, although the family name suggests that they came from

Bray, County Wicklow Bray ( ) is a coastal town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is situated about south of Dublin city centre on the east coast. It has a population of 32,600 making it the ninth largest urban area within Ireland (at the 2016 census). Bray is ...

. Not much is known of the younger Stephen's career until 1397 when he was appointed Lord Chief Justice.Ball p.179 At the same time he was appointed a member of the council which advised

Roger Mortimer, 4th Earl of March Roger de Mortimer, 4th Earl of March, 6th Earl of Ulster (11 April 137420 July 1398) was an English nobleman. He was considered the heir presumptive to King Richard II, his mother's first cousin. Roger Mortimer's father, the 3rd Earl of Marc ...

, the

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

. In 1403 the Crown gave him power to issue writs of

novel disseisin In English law, the assize of novel disseisin ("recent dispossession"; ) was an action to recover lands of which the plaintiff had been disseised, or dispossessed. It was one of the so-called "petty (possessory) assizes" established by Henry II i ...

and other important writs, in parts of Ireland remote from the Chancery where the

Great Seal of Ireland The Great Seal of Ireland was the seal used until 1922 by the Dublin Castle administration to authenticate important state documents in Ireland, in the same manner as the Great Seal of the Realm in England. The Great Seal of Ireland was used fro ...

could not be affixed to them.''Patent Roll 4 Henry IV ''In 1404 his patent of office was renewed in the presence 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 ...

.''Patent Roll 7 Henry IV '' McGee calls him "one of the wisest statesmen of

the Pale The Pale (Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast st ...

". This verdict is borne out by the fact that, with two short intervals, he held the office of Lord Chief Justice for 38 years. In 1407, it appears that John Bermyngham was nominated to succeed him, but this was clearly against Bray's wishes since he succeeded in blocking Bermyngham's appointment, and remained in office for the next 25 years. In 1422 the Crown granted him

wardship In law, a ward is a minor or incapacitated adult placed under the protection of a legal guardian or government entity, such as a court. Such a person may be referenced as a "ward of the court". Overview The wardship jurisdiction is an ancient jur ...

of a very wealthy minor, Thomas Marward,

Baron Skryne Baron Skryne was the title of the holder of an Irish feudal barony: the title derived from the parish of Skryne, or Skreen, in County Meath. It was not recognised as a barony in the Peerage of Ireland, but was habitually used firstly by the de Feyp ...

, whose father, also Thomas, had been killed a few years earlier.D'Alton, John ''History of Drogheda'' Privately Published Dublin 1844 p.111 One glimpse we have of his official role is in 1432, when he and his fellow Chief Justice John Blakeney were appointed with two other judges to hear a case of

concerning lands in

The Curragh The Curragh ( ; ga, An Currach ) is a flat open plain of almost of common land in County Kildare. This area is well known for Irish horse breeding and training. The Irish National Stud is located on the edge of Kildare town, beside the f ...

County Kildare County Kildare ( ga, Contae Chill Dara) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county, ...

.''Patent Roll 10 Henry VI'' He retired in 1435, when he must have been well advanced in years, and died in 1441. After his death his widow Katherine was embroiled in litigation with

James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond James Butler, 4th Earl of Ormond (23 May 1393 – 23 August 1452) was the son of James Butler, 3rd Earl of Ormond. He was called 'The White Earl', and was esteemed for his learning. He was the patron of the Irish literary work, 'The Book of the ...

, whom she accused of withholding monies due to her. The details of the lawsuit are hard for a modern reader to follow, but it was considered serious enough to be referred to the

Privy Council of England The Privy Council of England, also known as His (or Her) Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council (), was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England. Its members were often senior members of the House of Lords and the House of ...

, probably because Katherine's cause was supported by Ormonde's numerous political enemies.Nicolas, Sir Nicholas Harris ''Proceedings and Ordinances of the Privy Council of England'' 1835 p.328

References

1441 deaths People from County Wicklow Year of birth unknown Lords chief justice of Ireland {{Ireland-law-bio-stub