Sir Guy Fairfax was an English judge.

Fairfax was of a Yorkshire

Yorkshire

Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...

 family, and third son of Richard Fairfax of Walton

Walton

-People:* Walton family, connected to Wal-Mart* The Waltons, an American television series centered on the fictitious eponymous family* The Walton sextuplets, the world's first all-female surviving sextuplets, born in 1983-United Kingdom:*Walton, Aylesbury...

, by his wife, Anastasia, daughter of John Carthorpe. He is mentioned in 1421 as seised of the manor of Hameldene, being then very young. From his father he inherited the manor of Steeton in Yorkshire, where he built a castle. At first he seems to have been occupied with purely local business. He was in the commission of array for the West Riding

West Riding of Yorkshire

The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of the three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county, County of York, West Riding , was based closely on the historic boundaries...

 in 1435, and in 1460 was commissioned to inquire what lands there were in that riding belonging to Richard, duke of York

Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York

Richard Plantagenêt, 3rd Duke of York, 6th Earl of March, 4th Earl of Cambridge, and 7th Earl of Ulster, conventionally called Richard of York was a leading English magnate, great-grandson of King Edward III...

, who had been attainted in the previous parliament

Parliament

A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...

.

One of his colleagues was Sir William Plumpton, whose counsel he afterwards was in 1469. He first appears in the year-books in Michaelmas

Michaelmas

Michaelmas, the feast of Saint Michael the Archangel is a day in the Western Christian calendar which occurs on 29 September...

 1463 as a serjeant

Serjeant-at-law

The Serjeants-at-Law was an order of barristers at the English bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law , or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writs dating to 1300 which identify them as descended from figures in France prior to the Norman Conquest...

 and member of Gray's Inn

Gray's Inn

The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...

. On 28 April 1468 he was appointed King's serjeant, and in 1476 became Recorder

Recorder (judge)

A Recorder is a judicial officer in England and Wales. It now refers to two quite different appointments. The ancient Recorderships of England and Wales now form part of a system of Honorary Recorderships which are filled by the most senior full-time circuit judges...

 of York

York

York is a walled city, situated at the confluence of the Rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. The city has a rich heritage and has provided the backdrop to major political events throughout much of its two millennia of existence...

. He was raised to a judgeship of the King's bench

Court of King's Bench (England)

The Court of King's Bench , formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was an English court of common law in the English legal system...

 and is first mentioned as a judge in Trinity term

Trinity term

Trinity term is the name of the third and final term of Oxford University's and the University of Dublin's academic year. It runs from about mid April to about the end of June and is named after Trinity Sunday, which falls eight weeks after Easter, in May or June.At the University of Sydney, it was...

 (around mid April to end of June) 1477. In this office he won an honourable reputation, and on 8 October 1482 he received a grant of a hundred merks yearly in addition to his salary. He was continued in his judgeship on each subsequent Demise of the Crown

Demise of the Crown

In relation to the shared monarchy of the Commonwealth realms and other monarchies, the demise of the Crown is the legal term for the end of a reign by a king, queen, or emperor, whether by death or abdication....

, and under Edward V

Edward V of England

Edward V was King of England from 9 April 1483 until his deposition two months later. His reign was dominated by the influence of his uncle Richard, Duke of Gloucester, who succeeded him as Richard III...

 became chief justice

Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...

 of Lancaster

Lancaster, Lancashire

Lancaster is the county town of Lancashire, England. It is situated on the River Lune and has a population of 45,952. Lancaster is a constituent settlement of the wider City of Lancaster, local government district which has a population of 133,914 and encompasses several outlying towns, including...

.

He died in 1495. By his wife, Margaret, a daughter of Sir William Ryther, he had six children, four sons (the eldest, William, a Judge of the Common Pleas under Henry VIII

Henry VIII of England

Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...

) and two daughters.