Sir Roger Cholmeley (c. 1485 – 21 June 1565) was

Lord Chief Justice Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

of the Court of King's Bench from 1552 to 1553. From 1535 to 1545 he was

Recorder of London The Recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The Recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The Recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

and served in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

. He is possibly best remembered for his endowment to found a free grammar school, Highgate School, at London.

Background and early life

Cholmeley (sometimes spelled "Cholmley" or "Cholmondeley; all pronounced "ˈtʃʌmli", "CHUM-lee") was the illegitimate son of Sir Richard Cholmeley of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

(c. 1460 – 1521), who served as Lieutenant of the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is sep ...

from 1513 to 1520. Cholmeley's family can be traced back to the 12th-century Robert de Chelmundelegh, second son of William le Belward, who inherited parts of the Barony of Malpas (for which

Malpas, Cheshire Malpas is an ancient market town and a civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. Malpas is now referred to as a village after losing its town status. It lies near the bor ...

, is named), including Cholmondeley, Cheshire, previously held by Robert Fitzhugh. Over the centuries, the family name was spelt in many variants as

Middle English Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...

developed away from French influences. Different branches of the family still spell the name differently, and Cholmeley's most famous cousins, of

Cholmondeley, Cheshire Cholmondeley ( ) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cheshire, England, north east of Malpas, Cheshire, Malpas and west of Nantwich. It includes the small settlements of Croxton Green () and Dowse Green (), with a total population of ...

, spell it "Cholmondeley".Genealogy of this branch of Cholmeley family
/ref> The pronunciation and spelling are neither counterintuitive nor phonetic, but as used down the ages. Roger Cholmeley was educated to the law at Lincoln's Inn from 1506. Despite thrice being expelled from the Inn, he entered the legal profession.Will and probate for Sir Richard Cholmeley, National Archives Records: Consistory Court of Canterbury, Wills and Probates 1383-1558 vol. 1 & 2 (J. G. Challenor Smith) December 1521 and March 1522, available online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Career

Most of Cholmeley's career as a lawyer was spent in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, but he lived at

Highgate Highgate ( ) is a suburban area of north London at the northeastern corner of Hampstead Heath, north-northwest of Charing Cross. Highgate is one of the most expensive London suburbs in which to live. It has two active conservation organisat ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a historic county in southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the ceremonial county of Greater London, with small sections in neighbour ...

. In 1520 he was called as a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of Lincoln's Inn, in 1531 became a

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 ...

, and in November 1534 was

knight 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 church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

ed. From 1535 to 1545 he was Recorder of

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, during which time he was one of the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Members of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

in four

Parliaments In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. T ...

. In November 1545 Cholmeley became

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 ...

, and in May 1552 was appointed Chief Justice of the King's Bench. He was Lord Chief Justice for only a year as

Queen Mary I Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, and as "Bloody Mary" by her Protestant opponents, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain from January 1556 until her death in 1558. Sh ...

would not reappoint him. The same year, he was imprisoned for a month and fined for signing Lady Jane Grey's instrument of succession as Queen. He returned to work as a barrister and was a Member of Parliament for

from 1554 to 1559. Princess (later Queen)

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...

stayed the night of 15 Feb 1555 with Cholmeleys in Highgate.

Highgate School

Cholmeley founded Highgate School, which was established by

royal charter A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...

in 1565. Former pupils of the school are known as ''Old Cholmeleians'' in his memory. The school has gone on to become a leading independent school (sometimes referred to as a public school). Old Cholmeleians include

John Venn John Venn, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS, Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of London, FSA (4 August 1834 – 4 April 1923) was an English mathematician, logician and philosopher noted for introducing Venn diagrams, which are used in l ...

, the creator of

Venn diagrams A Venn diagram is a widely used diagram style that shows the logical relation between sets, popularized by John Venn (1834–1923) in the 1880s. The diagrams are used to teach elementary set theory, and to illustrate simple set relationships ...

, poets Gerard Manley Hopkins and John Betjeman, and musicians

John Tavener Sir John Kenneth Tavener (28 January 1944 – 12 November 2013) was an English composer, known for his extensive output of choral religious works. Among his best known works are '' The Lamb'' (1982), ''The Protecting Veil'' (1988), and '' Song ...

and

John Rutter John Milford Rutter (born 24 September 1945) is an English composer, conductor, editor, arranger, and record producer, mainly of choral music. Biography Born on 24 September 1945 in London, the son of an industrial chemist and his wife, Rutte ...

Death

Cholmeley died in London on 21 June 1565. He was buried at

St Martin, Ludgate St Martin, Ludgate, also known as St Martin within Ludgate, is an Anglican church on Ludgate Hill in the ward of Farringdon, in the City of London. The church is of medieval origin, but the present building dates from 1677 to 1684 and was design ...

. He willed property to nephew Jasper.

Family

He married Christine Hurst, who died in 1558. They had two daughters: *Elizabeth, married first to Sir Leonard Beckwith of Selby, Yorkshire, and secondly (1559) to Christopher Kern of Kern, Somersetshire; *Frances, the other daughter, was married to Sir Thomas Russell of Strensham, Worcestershire.

Background and early life

Career

Highgate School

Death

Family

References

Further reading