Christopher Fleming (bef. 1474–1517) was an Irish nobleman, who was Lord High

Treasurer of Ireland The Lord High Treasurer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland, chief financial officer of the Kingdom of Ireland. The designation ''High'' was added in 1695. After the Acts of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom of Great Britain ...

from 1514 until his death. He succeeded as 8th Baron Slane in 1492.

Family

Christopher was the eldest son of

James Fleming, 7th Baron Slane James Fleming (bef. 1442–1492) was an Irish nobleman, who sat as a member of the House of Lords in the Irish Parliament in 1491 and also served as High Sheriff of Meath. James was the son of William Fleming, a younger son of the 2nd Baron, and ...

. His mother was Elizabeth Welles (died 1506), daughter of William Welles,

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 ...

, and his wife Anne Barnewall, and widow of the 3rd Baron Killeen. He married firstly Lady Eilis FitzGerald, daughter of

Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare KG (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 149 ...

by his first wife Alison FitzEustace, daughter of

Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester Rowland FitzEustace, 1st Baron Portlester (c. 1430 – 19 December 1496) was an Irish peer, statesman and judge. He was one of the dominant political figures in late fifteenth-century Ireland, rivalled in influence probably only by his son-in-law ...

and his third wife Margaret d'Artois. After Eilis's death he married secondly Elizabeth Stucley, daughter of Nicholas Stucley of

Affeton Castle Affeton Castle is a converted late-medieval gatehouse near East Worlington, Devon, England. It was formerly part of the fortified manor house of Affeton, built by the Stucley family in about 1434, and situated on the side of a valley of the Littl ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

, head of an ancient Devonshire family and ancestor of the Stucley baronets, and his wife Thomasine Cockworthy. By his first wife Christopher had three children: * James Fleming, 9th Baron Slane, who married Alison, daughter of Sir Robert Dillon,

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the s ...

* Eleanor * Catherine, who married Sir Christopher Barnewall and was the main heiress of her brother James, who died childless. On the 9th Baron's death, the barony passed to his cousin

Thomas Fleming, 10th Baron Slane Thomas Fleming (died 1601) was an Irish peer, and a member of the Parliament of Ireland of 1585. He was the son of James Fleming, and great-grandson of James Fleming, 7th Baron Slane. His mother was Ismay Dillon, daughter of Sir Bartholomew Di ...

Slane Friary

Today Christopher Fleming is best remembered for his religious foundations. In 1512, on the site of an earlier abbey at

Slane Slane () is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 (Dublin to Monaghan road) and the N51 (Drogheda to Navan road). As of the 2016 census ...

, he built a

friary A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

and college for the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

order. The friary was later abandoned, but its ruins are still one of the best-known sights of Slane.Fleming, F. Lawrence ''A Genealogical History of the Barons Slane'' Paragon Publishing 2008

References

Sources

*G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. ''The Complete Peerage''. (London: St. Catherine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, p. 3-4. {{DEFAULTSORT:Slane, Christopher Fleming, 8th Baron Slane Lord High Treasurers Year of birth missing 15th-century births 1517 deaths 16th-century Irish politicians People of the Tudor period Barons in the Peerage of Ireland