- Thomas Chamberlayne
Sir Thomas Chamberlayne, SL (d.
27 September 1625 ) was an English judge who served asChief Justice of Chester during the reign ofJames I of England .Chamberlayne, the son of an English settler in Ireland, entered
Gray's Inn in 1578 and became abarrister in 1585. As steward to Lord Ellesmere, and from 1591solicitor to Lord Berkeley, he seems to have been reasonably well off, and was able to contribute to building projects at Gray's Inn and invest in lands inOxfordshire . In 1608, he became recorder ofBanbury , a post he would hold until his death.In 1612, Chamberlayne married Elizabeth Fermor, widow of Sir William Stafford of Blatherwick, and in 1614 was made a
serjeant-at-law . His judicial career began in 1615 with an appointment as justice of theAnglesey circuit, and the following year he was made Chief Justice of Chester and knighted. In 1620 he became a Justice of the Court ofKing's Bench , and was apparently considered, but passed over, for the post ofMaster of the Rolls in 1621. Friction between his successor as Chief Justice of Chester, Sir James Whitelocke, and the Earl of Northampton,Lord President of Wales , led to his return to that position in 1624. His first wife having died in 1620, in 1622 Chamberlayne had married Elizabeth Carey, daughter of Lord Hunsdon and widow of Sir Thomas Berkeley. Chamberlayne died on27 September 1625 . His eldest son, Thomas, was later created a baronet.References
*cite book | first=David | last=Ibbetson | chapter=Chamberlain, Sir Thomas (d. 1625) | title=Oxford Dictionary of National Biography | publisher=Oxford University Press | year=2004 | chapterurl=http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/article/5052 | accessdate=2007-05-19
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