William de Beverley, Le Buerlaco, or de Burlaco (died 1289 or 1292) was a senior English Crown official and judge of the reign of King

Edward I of England 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 vassa ...

. He held high public office, and spent his last years in Ireland as

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

.Haydn p.446 The most usual version of his surname suggests that he was a native of

Beverley Beverley is a market town, market and minster (church), minster town and a civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, of which it is the county town. The town centre is located south-east of York's centre ...

in Yorkshire, a county with which he had a professional connection. Beverley Market Cross

He sat on a royal commission to inquire into

knights 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 ...

' service in three counties in 1279. He was a royal

tax collector A tax collector (also called a taxman) is a person who collects unpaid taxes from other people or corporations. The term could also be applied to those who audit tax returns. Tax collectors are often portrayed as being evil, and in the modern wo ...

and receiver in

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 ...

in 1283–5, charged with levying "the tenth" (one-tenth of the value of movable goods):''Patent Roll Edward I Vol. 2'' Richard de Soham, another future Irish

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 ...

, acted as his assistant. In 1286 King Edward sent him to Ireland to deal with unspecified "special affairs" there. He was appointed Lord Chancellor in 1288. Ball gives his date of death as 1289, and this is borne out by legal proceedings that year, which refer to "William de Beverlaco, deceased". Some sources however give his date of death as 1292. In 1288 or 1289 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 ...

sent him an order in his capacity as Chancellor to publish all

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament ...

. National Library of Ireland n.2797 p.1699 Our few personal glimpses of him come from his letters to his English opposite number,

Robert Burnell Robert Burnell (sometimes spelled Robert Burnel;Harding ''England in the Thirteenth Century'' p. 159 c. 1239 – 25 October 1292) was an English bishop who served as Lord Chancellor of England from 1274 to 1292. A native of Shropshire, h ...

Lord Chancellor of England The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...

, who was a friend of his. From Court records we know that he was the

legal guardian A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court or otherwise has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to make decisions relevant to the personal and property interests of another person who is deemed incompetent, call ...

of a female relative, Margery de Anlatheby or de Anlauby, a woman of some wealth, who was adjudged to be

insane Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors performed by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can be manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to ...

.''Inquisitions Post Mortem Edward I'' Margery was a

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has Death, died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word ...

with four children, and apparently became insane after her husband's death in 1279. Although her father was still alive in 1289, William had custody of her person and lands until his death.

Sources

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921'' London John Murray 1926 *Buhrer, Eliza ''Mental Competency Inquisitions from Medieval England (ca. late 12th c.-early 15th c.)'' Published in ''Medieval Disability Sourcebook: Western Europe'' Cormac McNabb, ed. Punctum Books 2020 *Haydn, Joseph ''Book of Dignities'' London Longman Green Brown and Longmans 1851 *''Inquisitions Post Mortem, Edward 1, File 54'' *O'Flanagan, J. Roderick ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland'' London 2 volumes 1870

Notes

{{reflist 13th-century deaths Year of birth unknown Year of death uncertain Lord chancellors of Ireland People from Yorkshire