Sir William Babington (c. 1370 – 1454)S. J. Payling, ‘Babington, Sir William (c.1370–1454)’,

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

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, Sept 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 11 March 2008
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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 judge hailing from an old Northumbrian noble family. He was the son of Sir John de Babington and Benedicta Ward. In 1414, Babington was made a King's Attorney (

Attorney General for England and Wales His Majesty's Attorney General for England and Wales is one of the law officers of the Crown and the principal legal adviser to sovereign and Government in affairs pertaining to England and Wales. The attorney general maintains the Attorney G ...

). Three years later, an act of parliament compelled him to accept the title of

Serjeant-at-law 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 wri ...

, which he originally refused due to the expensive inauguration ceremony it required. Rising rapidly through government offices, in 1419 he was made

Chief Baron of the Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Exchequer was the first "baron" (meaning judge) of the English Exchequer of Pleas. "In the absence of both the Treasurer of the Exchequer or First Lord of the Treasury, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, it was he who pre ...

, the head judge of the jurisdiction exercised by the Exchequer of Pleas. Babington was named a Justice of the Common Bench in 1420. He presided this court as its Chief Justice from 1423 until his retirement in 1436. In 1426 he received the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

Family

Sir William married Margery, daughter of Sir Peter Martell of

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. They had five sons and five daughters. The conspirator Anthony Babington was a direct descendant.

References

* , - , - 1370s births 1454 deaths 15th-century English judges Knights of the Bath Chief Justices of the Common Pleas Justices of the Common Pleas Chief Barons of the Exchequer Serjeants-at-law (England)

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

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