Sir Thomas Wode (died 31 August 1502), KS, of Childrey in

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

(now in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

), was

Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas was the head of the Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, which was the second-highest common law court in the English legal system until 1875, when it, along with the other ...

from 1500 and in 1478 was elected a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for Wallingford.

Origins

His early life and career are unknown, leading to him being described as 'perhaps the most obscure Chief Justice of the Tudor period'.

Career

His

Inn of Court The Inns of Court in London are the professional associations for barristers in England and Wales. There are four Inns of Court – Gray's Inn, Lincoln's Inn, Inner Temple and Middle Temple. All barristers must belong to one of them. They ha ...

, through process of elimination, was the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

(as the Middle Temple records for that period are missing, while the records of the other three Inns do not include him), and his first appointment was as a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for

in 1478, the same year being returned for Parliament representing Wallingford. He was made a Serjeant-at-law in 1486, and in 1488 a

King's Serjeant 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 writ ...

; it is supposed he then became a member of Serjeant's Inn after this. On 24 November 1495 he was made a Puisne Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, and on 28 October 1500 he was made

. His presidency of the Court of Common Pleas was short as he died in office on 31 August 1502.

Marriage and children

The name of his wife is unknown, but his daughter and heiress Anne Wode is known to have become the wife of Sir Thomas Stucley (1473-1542)

lord Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or ar ...

of the manor of Affeton in Devon and Sheriff of Devon in 1521. The Stucley family quartered the

canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial allus ...

of "Wood of Binley", in Devon, given by Sir

William Pole William Pole FRS FRSE MICE (22 April 181430 December 1900) was an English engineer, astronomer, musician and an authority on Whist. Life He was born in Birmingham on 22 April 1814, the son of Thomas Pole. Pole was apprenticed as an engineer t ...

(d.1635) as ''Gules crusily or, three demi-woodmen with clubs or'', as visible on the 16th century mural monument in St Branock's Church, Braunton, Devon, to Richard Bellew of

Ash, Braunton Ash in the parish of Braunton in North Devon is a historic estate listed in the Domesday Book. The present mansion, known as The Ash Barton estate is a Grade II* listed building. History Descent Anglo-Saxons In AD 973 Edgar the Peaceful repos ...

and his wife Margaret St Leger.

Death and burial

He died on 31 August 1502 and was buried at Reading Abbey in accordance with his will. He bequeathed a gold ring and two books to Thomas Frowyk, who succeeded him as Lord Chief Justice.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wode, Thomas Chief Justices of the Common Pleas People from Childrey Serjeants-at-law (England) Burials at Reading Abbey Justices of the Common Pleas English knights Year of birth missing 15th-century births 1502 deaths English MPs 1478 16th-century English judges 16th-century English lawyers