Walter of Pattishall (died 1231/32) was an English justice and administrator. He was the eldest son of

Simon of Pattishall Simon of Pattishall (or Pateshull) (died 1217) was an English judge and civil servant who is considered the first Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. Life The first appearance of Pattishall in the records was in 1190, where he served as the escheat ...

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 ...

, and elder brother of Hugh of Pattishall,

Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield The Bishop of Lichfield is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Lichfield in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers 4,516 km2 (1,744 sq. mi.) of the counties of Powys, Staffordshire, Shropshire, Warwickshire and West M ...

. He inherited lands in

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 ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

and elsewhere, and as a result of his marriage to Margery, daughter of Richard d'Argentan, he acquired lands in

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. He followed his fathers footsteps and became a justice, although with less success. His first appointment is as an itinerant justice in the

South Midlands The South Midlands is an area of England which includes Northamptonshire, the northern parts of Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire and the western part of Bedfordshire. Unlike the East Midlands or West Midlands, the South Midlands is not one of t ...

between 1218 and 1219, followed by occasional service as a

royal justice Royal justices were an innovation in the law reforms of the Angevin kings of England The Angevins (; "from Anjou") were a royal house of French origin that ruled England in the 12th and early 13th centuries; its monarchs were Henry II, Richa ...

, sitting for the last time in June 1231. Although not a successful justice, he was appointed High Sheriff of

and

on 18 January 1224 to replace Falkes de Breauté, who was becoming increasingly unpopular in the royal court. Following de Breauté's rebellion in 1224, culminating in the successful siege of

Bedford Castle Bedford Castle was a large medieval castle in Bedford, England. Built after 1100 by Henry I, the castle played a prominent part in both the civil war of the Anarchy and the First Barons' War. The castle was significantly extended in stone, alt ...

, Pattishall, along with Henry of Braybrooke, was ordered in the name of the king to demolish the castle. This caused an issue of loyalties, as both Pattishall and Braybrooke were vassals of William de Beauchamp, who owned the barony of Bedford and held the position of hereditary constable of the castle, but ultimately their loyalty to the king won out and the castle was demolished. Pattishall was replaced as High Sheriff on 5 September 1228, and was certainly dead by August 1232; he may have been dead by August 1231. He was survived by his wife and his son, Sir Simon of Pattishall.

References

{{authority control 12th-century births 1230s deaths 13th-century English judges Anglo-Normans High Sheriffs of Buckinghamshire High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire