William Basset (died c. 1249) was an English

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 ...

Life and career

Basset was quite possibly the son of Simon Basset of Sapcote, but his lineage is uncertain. He forfeited for the rebellion in 1216 during the First Barons' War, but later restored his allegiance in 1217. He assisted as a

justiciar Justiciar is the English form of the medieval Latin term ''justiciarius'' or ''justitiarius'' ("man of justice", i.e. judge). During the Middle Ages in England, the Chief Justiciar (later known simply as the Justiciar) was roughly equivalent ...

in assessing for Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire in 1225, and was appointed as a

justice itinerant A Justice Itinerant was a royal appointed official sent to the English counties and Ireland to administer justice. References * {{cite book , title= A History of English Law , volume= 1 , first= William Searle , last= Holdsworth , author-li ...

for these counties on 27 May 1226. He later appears as a justice itinerant in 1227 and 1232. He died sometime in July 1249, when Robert, his heir, did homage. Another William Basset was an advocate under

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

and

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

, and was elevated to the bench of the Common Pleas about 1337. On 18 October 1341 he was transferred to the

King's Bench The King's Bench (), or, during the reign of a female monarch, the Queen's Bench ('), refers to several contemporary and historical courts in some Commonwealth jurisdictions. * Court of King's Bench (England), a historic court court of commo ...

, where he sat until about 1350.

References

Year of birth missing 1249 deaths 13th-century English judges Justiciars of England {{England-law-bio-stub