John Hody
Encyclopedia
Sir John Hody was an English judge and Chief Justice of the King’s Bench
. Jordan de Hode held lands in Hode in the thirteenth century; Richard de Hody was the king's escheator of that county in 1353/4 and 1357/8; and the same office was filled by William Hody in 1400/1. The father of the chief justice was Thomas Hody, who was lord of the manor of Kington Magna, near Shaftesbury, in the adjoining county of Dorset, in 1419/20, and in the same year was king's escheat
or there. He married Margaret, daughter and heiress of John Cole, of Nitheway, near Torbay
, in Devon
, which thus became the birthplace of his children. Their elder son Alexander was a devoted partisan of the Lancastrian cause
, and was attainted in the first year of Edward IV
. for his adherence to Henry VI
.
from 1424/5. There is no record of his summons to take the degree of the coif
; but from his name appearing in the legal part of the list of those who were called upon to contribute towards the equipment of the army against France in 1435/6, there is very little doubt that he was then a Serjeant
; and if not then, he had certainly attained that rank before July 1439. He was returned to parliament
as representative of the borough of Shaftesbury
in 1419/20., and again in 1422/3, 1424/5, 1427/8 and 1436/7; and the estimation in which he stood on the latter occasion may be conceived by his being sent to the Lords
with a message from the other house announcing the election of a speaker
in the place of John Tyrell incapacitated by infirmity. In 1431/32 he was chosen a knight of the shire for Dorset, in 1433/4, 1435/36 and 1439/40 a knight of the shire for the county of Somerset
; and on the death of Sir John Juyn in the latter year he was raised to the office of chief justice of the King's Bench
, his patent being dated 13 April 1440. He held it not quite two years; his successor, Sir John Fortescue
, being appointed on 25 January 1442. His judicial career was probably terminated by his death; for his will is dated 17 December 1441, though the precise time of its probate is not recorded.
mentions him amongst the " famous and expert sages of the law" from whom Lyttelton
had "great furtherance in composing his Institutes of the Laws of England."
, as early as 1427/8; but he was for some time seated at Pillesden, in Dorset
, which came to him, together with the manor of Whitfield in the parish of Wivilscombe, in Somerset
, and other property in both counties, by his marriage with Elizabeth,daughter and heiress of John Jewe, son and heir of John Jewe, by Alice, daughter of John de Pillesden. After his death his widow married Robert Cappes, Esq., who was sheriff of Dorset and Somerset in 1445/6. She died in 1473, having had issue by her first husband five sons and several daughters.
John, the eldest son, was seated at Stowell and Nitheway, and his posterity continued there for many generations. William, the second son was chief baron of the Exchequer in the reign of Henry VII. From him sprang a branch which resided at Pillesden, and became extinct in the 18th century.
The will of the chief justice, by which it appears that his father survived him, directs his body to be buried in the Church of St Mary, Woolavington
, in Somerset, near the body "Magistri Johannis Hody," his uncle. By the large amount of silver plate and other articles which he gives in legacies, some idea may be formed of the domestic economy of a chief justice of England
in the middle of the fifteenth century.
This article incorporates text from Foss's
Judges of England, a publication now in the public domain.
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
Origins
Hody was descended from a family of considerable antiquity, though of no great note, in DevonDevon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
. Jordan de Hode held lands in Hode in the thirteenth century; Richard de Hody was the king's escheator of that county in 1353/4 and 1357/8; and the same office was filled by William Hody in 1400/1. The father of the chief justice was Thomas Hody, who was lord of the manor of Kington Magna, near Shaftesbury, in the adjoining county of Dorset, in 1419/20, and in the same year was king's escheat
Escheat
Escheat is a common law doctrine which transfers the property of a person who dies without heirs to the crown or state. It serves to ensure that property is not left in limbo without recognised ownership...
or there. He married Margaret, daughter and heiress of John Cole, of Nitheway, near Torbay
Torbay
Torbay is an east-facing bay and natural harbour, at the western most end of Lyme Bay in the south-west of England, situated roughly midway between the cities of Exeter and Plymouth. Part of the ceremonial county of Devon, Torbay was made a unitary authority on 1 April 1998...
, in Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, which thus became the birthplace of his children. Their elder son Alexander was a devoted partisan of the Lancastrian cause
House of Lancaster
The House of Lancaster was a branch of the royal House of Plantagenet. It was one of the opposing factions involved in the Wars of the Roses, an intermittent civil war which affected England and Wales during the 15th century...
, and was attainted in the first year of Edward IV
Edward IV of England
Edward IV was King of England from 4 March 1461 until 3 October 1470, and again from 11 April 1471 until his death. He was the first Yorkist King of England...
. for his adherence to Henry VI
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
.
Career
John, the younger son, was educated as a lawyer, and is frequently mentioned in the Year BooksYear Books
The Year Books are the modern English name that is now typically given to the earliest law reports of England. Substantial numbers of manuscripts circulated during the later medieval period containing reports of pleas heard before the Common Bench. In the sixteenth century versions of this...
from 1424/5. There is no record of his summons to take the degree of the coif
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...
; but from his name appearing in the legal part of the list of those who were called upon to contribute towards the equipment of the army against France in 1435/6, there is very little doubt that he was then 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 if not then, he had certainly attained that rank before July 1439. He was returned to parliament
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
as representative of the borough of Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury
Shaftesbury is a town in Dorset, England, situated on the A30 road near the Wiltshire border 20 miles west of Salisbury. The town is built 718 feet above sea level on the side of a chalk and greensand hill, which is part of Cranborne Chase, the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset...
in 1419/20., and again in 1422/3, 1424/5, 1427/8 and 1436/7; and the estimation in which he stood on the latter occasion may be conceived by his being sent to the Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
with a message from the other house announcing the election of a speaker
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
in the place of John Tyrell incapacitated by infirmity. In 1431/32 he was chosen a knight of the shire for Dorset, in 1433/4, 1435/36 and 1439/40 a knight of the shire for the county of Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
; and on the death of Sir John Juyn in the latter year he was raised to the office of chief justice of the King's Bench
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
, his patent being dated 13 April 1440. He held it not quite two years; his successor, Sir John Fortescue
John Fortescue
thumb|right|John FortescueSir John Fortescue was an English lawyer, and the author of the De laudibus legum Angliae, an influential treatise on English law.-Early life:...
, being appointed on 25 January 1442. His judicial career was probably terminated by his death; for his will is dated 17 December 1441, though the precise time of its probate is not recorded.
Judicial reputation
Notwithstanding the short period during which he presided in the court, he is stated by Prince to have won golden opinions by his integrity and firmness in the administration of justice. Sir Edward CokeEdward Coke
Sir Edward Coke SL PC was an English barrister, judge and politician considered to be the greatest jurist of the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras. Born into a middle class family, Coke was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge before leaving to study at the Inner Temple, where he was called to the...
mentions him amongst the " famous and expert sages of the law" from whom Lyttelton
Thomas de Littleton
Sir Thomas de Littleton was an English judge and legal writer.-Early life:He was born, it is supposed, at Frankley Manor House, Worcestershire, England in about 1407. Littleton’s surname was that of his mother, who was the sole daughter and heiress of Thomas de Littleton, Lord of Frankley. She...
had "great furtherance in composing his Institutes of the Laws of England."
Family and descendants
The judge had an estate at Stowell, in SomersetSomerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, as early as 1427/8; but he was for some time seated at Pillesden, in Dorset
Dorset
Dorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
, which came to him, together with the manor of Whitfield in the parish of Wivilscombe, in Somerset
Somerset
The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...
, and other property in both counties, by his marriage with Elizabeth,daughter and heiress of John Jewe, son and heir of John Jewe, by Alice, daughter of John de Pillesden. After his death his widow married Robert Cappes, Esq., who was sheriff of Dorset and Somerset in 1445/6. She died in 1473, having had issue by her first husband five sons and several daughters.
John, the eldest son, was seated at Stowell and Nitheway, and his posterity continued there for many generations. William, the second son was chief baron of the Exchequer in the reign of Henry VII. From him sprang a branch which resided at Pillesden, and became extinct in the 18th century.
The will of the chief justice, by which it appears that his father survived him, directs his body to be buried in the Church of St Mary, Woolavington
Church of St Mary, Woolavington
The Church of St Mary in Woolavington, Somerset, England has 11th century origins and is a Grade I listed building.There may have been a church on the site prior to the Norman conquest but the present building may have been started around 1154 by Maud and Philip Columber the lords of the manor at...
, in Somerset, near the body "Magistri Johannis Hody," his uncle. By the large amount of silver plate and other articles which he gives in legacies, some idea may be formed of the domestic economy of a chief justice of England
Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales
The Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary and President of the Courts of England and Wales. Historically, he was the second-highest judge of the Courts of England and Wales, after the Lord Chancellor, but that changed as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005,...
in the middle of the fifteenth century.
This article incorporates text from Foss's
Edward Foss
Edward Foss was an English lawyer and biographer.He was born in London. He became a solicitor, and on his retirement from practice in 1840, devoted himself to the study of legal antiquities. His Judges of England was regarded as a standard work, characterized by accuracy and extensive research...
Judges of England, a publication now in the public domain.