Sir Thomas Chamberlayne, SL (died 27 September 1625) was an

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judge who served as Chief Justice of Chester during the reign of

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

Life

Chamberlayne, the son of an English settler in Ireland, entered

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

in 1578 and became a barrister in 1585. As steward to Lord Ellesmere, and from 1591 solicitor to Lord Berkeley, he seems to have been reasonably well off, and was able to contribute to building projects at Gray's Inn and invest in lands in Oxfordshire. In 1608, he became

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, a post he would hold until his death. In 1612, Chamberlayne married Elizabeth Fermor, widow of Sir William Stafford of Blatherwick, and in 1614 was made 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 wri ...

. His judicial career began in 1615 with an appointment as justice of the

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circuit, and the following year he was made Chief Justice of Chester and knighted. In 1620 he became a Justice of the Court of King's Bench, and was apparently considered, but passed over, for the post of

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in 1621. Friction between his successor as Chief Justice of Chester, Sir James Whitelocke, and the

Earl of Northampton Earl of Northampton is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. Earls of Northampton, First Creation (1071) * Waltheof (d. 1076) * Maud, Queen of Scotland (c.1074–1130/31) *Simon II de Senlis (1103–1153) * Simon I ...

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, led to his return to that position in 1624.

Family

His first wife having died in 1620, in 1622 Chamberlayne married Elizabeth Carey, daughter of Lord Hunsdon and widow of Sir Thomas Berkeley. Chamberlayne died on 27 September 1625. His eldest son,

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, was later created a baronet.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Chamberlayne, Thomas 17th-century English judges Knights Bachelor Members of Gray's Inn 1625 deaths Year of birth unknown Justices of the Common Pleas Justices of the King's Bench Serjeants-at-law (England)