Sir William Inge (c. 1260 – May 1322) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench for a few months from 1316 to 1317. He was born in or near

Dunstable Dunstable ( ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Bedfordshire, England, east of the Chiltern Hills, north of London. There are several steep chalk escarpments, most noticeable when approaching Dunstable from the ...

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 ...

, the son of Thomas Inge, a minor landowner and administrator. William Inge acted as an attorney at the

common bench The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century afte ...

from 1281 and 1285, and was a serjeants of the king between 1287 and 1293. He was employed as a justice of eyre and of the

assize The courts of assize, or assizes (), were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes e ...

, and became a regular assize justice in 1293. He had been

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

by 1300. In the early years of the fourteenth century, he accompanied King

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassal o ...

several times on the king's campaigns in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. After 1307, Inge remained close with the new king,

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 acted as a commissioner in

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in 1310–11. He was appointed justice of the common bench in 1313, and held this post until he was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench in 1316, upon the death of

Roger Brabazon Sir Roger Brabazon ( 1247 – 13–14 June 1317) was an England, English lawyer, and Chief Justice of the King's Bench from 1296 to 1316. Little is known of his background, he was the son of William le Brabazon, and may have been born at Mowsl ...

. By this time, however, serious allegations of corruption had been raised against Inge. He was accused of, and convicted of, improper conduct over the purchase of the manor of Woodmansterne in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

.THE MANOR OF PECKLETON: INTRODUCTION BY S. H. SKILLINGTON www.le.ac.uk/lahs/downloads/PeckletonPagesfromVolume17.pdf Though the conviction came after he had been dismissed as Chief Justice, it is likely that the allegations contributed to his downfall. He took no part in public life after this.

Personal life and death

Inge was married twice, and had one daughter by his first wife – Joan, who married Eon la Zouche, and when widowed from him Robert Moton of

Peckleton Peckleton is a small village and civil parish located in the Hinckley and Bosworth district of Leicestershire, England. The villages of Kirkby Mallory and Stapleton also form part of the parish. Thus, according to the 2001 census, the parish had ...

. William Inge died some time shortly before 10 May 1322.

References

*. {{DEFAULTSORT:Inge, William 13th-century births 1322 deaths 13th-century English judges Lord chief justices of England and Wales Justices of the Common Pleas Serjeants-at-law (England) Knights Bachelor 14th-century English judges