Sir Thomas de la Dale (c.1317–1373) was an English-born

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

and landowner, who held the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, and also served as Lord Deputy of Ireland.Ball p.85

Biography

He was born at Little Barford, Bedfordshire, son of Thomas de la Dale, who married the heiress of Barford, Isabel de Leyham, daughter of Matthew de Leyham, in 1316.Page pp.206-9 In 1346 "Thomas, son of Isabel" (who was almost certainly our Sir Thomas) was listed as the owner of Barford; he also inherited lands at Everton cum Tetworth in the same county. In 1358 he was exempted from the usual feudal duties of a landowner. He was sent to Ireland in 1361, in the entourage of Lionel of Antwerp, Duke of Clarence, 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 ...

; he remained in Ireland, apart from a few short intervals, until 1369, and may have spent time there in the early 1370s. He was made Lord Chief Justice in 1365. He was also described as the "Governor of Ireland" when Lionel returned to England that year, leaving Thomas as his Deputy. He became Custos Rotulorum (Keeper of the Rolls) of Ireland in 1366, and his name appears as a witness in the Patent Rolls. In 1372 Robert Bron was made Chief Serjeant of

County Carlow County Carlow ( ; ga, Contae Cheatharlach) is a county located in the South-East Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Carlow is the second smallest and the third least populous of Ireland's 32 traditional counties. Carlow Cou ...

and

County Louth County Louth ( ; ga, An Lú) is a coastal county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. Louth is bordered by the counties of Meath to the south, Monaghan to the west, Armagh to the north and Down to the ...

on account of "his good services done in the company of Sir Thomas de la Dale, Sir

William de Windsor Sir William de Windsor, Baron Windsor (–1384) was an English administrator who served as King's Lieutenant in Ireland. Origins William was the son of Sir Alexander de Windsor of Grayrigg, Westmorland, and of Elizabeth (died August 1349), h ...

and others".''Patent Roll 46 Edward III'' He died in 1373: in his

will Will may refer to: Common meanings * Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death * Will (philosophy), or willpower * Will (sociology) * Will, volition (psychology) * Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will ...

he asked to be buried at Little Barford. His son and heir, also named Sir Thomas de la Dale (died 1396), was a senior member of the household of Lionel's younger brother,

John of Gaunt John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster (6 March 1340 – 3 February 1399) was an English royal prince, military leader, and statesman. He was the fourth son (third to survive infancy as William of Hatfield died shortly after birth) of King Edward ...

, Duke of Lancaster. He sometimes went by the alternative surname Fulthorpe, and was described as "a man of substance". Fulthorpe was succeeded by his son, who was yet another Thomas de la Dale. The de la Dales owned Barford until the male line of the family died out in the sixteenth century. The last of the de la Dales, Anne, daughter of William de la Dale, married Alexander Fettiplace in 1537. Their descendants remained at Barford until 1658.

References

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 *''Irish Archaeological and Celtic Society'' Vol.2 1842 *McFarlane, K.B. ''England in the Fifteenth Century-Collected Essays'' Hambleton Press London 1981 *Page, William ''History of the County of Bedfordshire'' 1908

Footnotes

People from the Borough of Bedford 1310s births 1373 deaths Lords chief justice of Ireland Lords Lieutenant of Ireland 14th-century Irish judges People from Bedfordshire {{UK-law-bio-stub