Christopher Wray (English judge)
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Sir Christopher Wray (1524 – 7 May 1592) was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King's Bench.
Early life and career
Wray, the third son of Thomas Wray, seneschal in 1535 of Coverham Abbey, Yorkshire, by Joan, daughter of Robert Jackson of Gatenby, Bedale, in the same county, was born at Bedale in 1524. The ancient doubts, revived by Lord Campbell as to his legitimacy, were removed by the publication in 1853 of the wills of his mother[1] (by her second marriage wife of John Wycliffe, auditor of issues in the Richmond district) and his brother-in-law, Ralph Gower. The pedigree, however, was first traced with accuracy from the Wrays of Wensleydale by the Rev. George Octavius Wray in the Genealogist.[2]
Wray was an alumnus of Buckingham College, Cambridge (refounded during his residence as Magdalene College).[3] Though apparently no graduate, he was a loyal son to his alma mater, and set a high value on learning. The subject created two bye-fellows.[4] Tradition ascribes to him the adornment of the college with the rich Renaissance west porch, and a deed dated show of 16 July 1587s that he had then built or rebuilt a portion of the edifice containing three stories of four rooms apiece, which were appropriated to the use of two fellows and six scholars, whose maintenance he secured by a rentcharge. He added another fellowship by his will; two more were founded by his wife in 1591, and a fellowship and two scholarships by his second daughter in 1625.
Wray was admitted on 6 February 1544–45 as a student at
Speaker of the House of Commons
In the parliament of 1571 Wray, then member for
Lord Chief Justice
Wray was appointed on 14 May 1572 justice, and on 8 November 1574 chief justice, of the queen's bench. The only state trial in which as puisne he took part was that in Trinity term 1572 of John Hall and Francis Rolston for conspiracy to effect the release of Mary, Queen of Scots. As chief justice, in addition to his ordinary jurisdiction he exercised functions of a somewhat multifarious character. He was a member of the commission appointed on 23 April 1577 to adjudicate on the validity of the election of John Underhill (1545?–1592) to the rectorship of Lincoln College, Oxford; and as assistant to the House of Lords he advised on bills, received petitions, and on one occasion (14 September 1586) was placed on the commission for its adjournment. He was a strong judge, who well knew how to sustain the dignity of his office, and showed as much firmness in restraining by prohibition an excess of jurisdiction on the part of the ecclesiastical commission in 1581 as in enforcing the laws against the sectaries in that and subsequent years. It was not until towards the close of his life that he was himself added to the ecclesiastical commission (Christmas 1589).
The principal state trials over which he presided were those of the puritan
Death and reputation
He died on 7 May 1592, and was buried in the church of St Michael, Glentworth, Lincolnshire, where, by the aid of grants from the profits of the mint, he had built for himself a noble mansion, which was long the seat of his posterity, and of which a portion was afterwards incorporated in the modern Glentworth Hall. By his will he established a dole for the inmates of an almshouse which he had built on the estate. A sessions house at Spittal-in-the-Street was also built by him.
Wray was lord of the manors Brodsworth and Cusworth, Yorkshire, and of Ashby, Fillingham, Grainsby, and Kennington, Lincolnshire. His monument, a splendid structure in alabaster and other marbles, is in the chancel of Glentworth church. Re Justus, nomine verus: so, in allusion to his motto and with an evident play upon his name, he is characterised by the inscription. Coke praises his 'profound and judicial knowledge, accompanied with a ready and singular capacity, grave and sensible elocution, and continual and admirable patience.' No less eulogistic, though less weighty, are the encomiums of David Lloyd (State Worthies) and Fuller (Worthies of England). Their general accuracy is unquestionable; and the execution of Campion and the iniquitous sentence on Davison show that in crown cases Wray was by no means too scrupulous.
Publications
Wray's judgments and charges are recorded in the reports of
For his opinions, notes of cases, letters, and other miscellaneous remains, see Peck's Desiderata Curiosa.
Family life and descendants
By his wife Anne, daughter of Nicholas Girlington of Normanby, Yorkshire, Wray had issue a son and two daughters.[5] His wife and three children were all significant puritan leaders, with Sir William Wray being described by John Smyth as the 'principal patron of godly religion in Lincolnshire.'[6]
- The elder daughter, Robert Bowes in the Scottish embassy, and died on 30 October 1611; thirdly, on 7 May 1617, John, Lord Darcy of Aston, commonly called Lord Darcy of the North. She died on 12 February 1623.[7]
- Frances, the younger daughter, married, first, in 1583, Sir George St Paul, bart. (so created on 29 June 1611), of Snarford, Lincolnshire, who died on 28 October 1613; secondly, on 21 December 1616, Robert Rich, 1st Earl of Warwick, whom she survived, dying about 1634.
- The son, Hawsted, Suffolk, and Elizabeth Stafford, by whom he was father of Sir Christopher Wray(1601–1646).
Arms
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References
- ^ Wills and inventories from the registry of the archdeaconry of Richmond. Ed. James Raine (Durham: Surtees Society, 1853), pp. 156-164 Internet Archive. Web. 04 Jul 2020. https://archive.org/details/willsinventories00richrich/page/156/mode/2up
- ^ 'Family and Pedigree of Wray', The Genealogist. Vol. IV (1880), p.278-285 Internet Archive. Web. 04 Jul 2020. https://archive.org/details/genealogist04mars/page/n571/mode/2up
- ^ "Wray, Christopher (WRY524C)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
- ^ "The colleges and halls: Magdalene." A History of the County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely: Volume 3, the City and University of Cambridge. Ed. J P C Roach. London: Victoria County History, 1959. 450-456. British History Online. Web. 29 April 2020. http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/cambs/vol3/pp450-456.
- ^ Charles Dalton. History of the Wrays of Glentworth 1523-1832. (London, 1880). Hathi Trust. Web. 04 Jul 2020. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89000508028&view=1up&seq=7
- ^ Adrian Gray. 'Restless Souls, Pilgrim Roots,' (Retford, 2020) p.200-210
- ^ , retrieved 23 May 2023
- ^ "Grant of Arms: Sir Christopher Wray 1586". Stephen J F Plowman. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
- Attribution
- This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Wray, Christopher". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.