Sir Ralph Sandwich (also known as Ralph de Sandwich and Ralph of Sandwich) was an English administrator and justice. He was Mayor of London from 1285 to 1293.

He was the son of Simon of Sandwich, the brother of Henry of Sandwich

Henry of Sandwich

-Life:Henry was the son of Henry of Sandwich, a knight from Sandwich, Kent. He held the prebend of Weldland in the diocese of London.Henry was elected 13 November 1262 and consecrated on 27 May 1263. He was suspended from office on 1 December 1265 but was reinstated by Pope Gregory X on 31 May 1272...

, and Gillian Sandwich. His family had close connections with Simon de Montfort

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, 1st Earl of Chester , sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from other Simon de Montforts, was an Anglo-Norman nobleman. He led the barons' rebellion against King Henry III of England during the Second Barons' War of 1263-4, and...

, and his uncle's links with Montfort's administration is most likely what brought Ralph into government. By September 1264 he had become part of the captive King's

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

 household, and on 1 January 1265 he became Master of the Great Wardrobe. On 7 May he was made Keeper of the Great Seal

Great Seal of the Realm

The Great Seal of the Realm or Great Seal of the United Kingdom is a seal that is used to symbolise the Sovereign's approval of important state documents...

, although without the governmental position which accompanied it. He was only allowed to use it for routine writs, otherwise the presence of Peter de Montfort

Peter de Montfort

Sir Peter de Montfort was an English parliamentarian.In 1257 he was High Sheriff of Staffordshire and Shropshire....

 and two others was required.

Sandwich was captured at the Battle of Evesham

Battle of Evesham

The Battle of Evesham was one of the two main battles of 13th century England's Second Barons' War. It marked the defeat of Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester, and the rebellious barons by Prince Edward – later King Edward I – who led the forces of his father, King Henry III...

 and his lands given to Roger de Leybourne

Roger de Leybourne

Sir Roger de Leybourne was a British soldier and landowner. He was the son of another Sir Roger de Leybourne and his wife Eleanor, the daughter and heir of Stephen of Thornham. In 1199 when the elder Roger was still a minor his wardship was sold to Thornham for 300 marks...

, while his father's lands were awarded to Leybourne's son William. After his pardon in 1266, Sandwich maintained a relationship with the Leybourne family, acting as a lawyer to Roger's widow in 1272 and executing her will in 1276. After the death of Henry of Sandwich in 1273 he was made administrator of the See of London

Diocese of London

The Anglican Diocese of London forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater...

, having already acted as their administrator during Henry's exile in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. In November 1273 he was appointed to audit the accounts of the Constable of Dover Castle, and in 1274 was summoned to attend the coronation of Edward I

Edward I of England

Edward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...

. In November 1275 he was one of three men appointed as a Steward of the King's Demesne

Demesne

In the feudal system the demesne was all the land, not necessarily all contiguous to the manor house, which was retained by a lord of the manor for his own use and support, under his own management, as distinguished from land sub-enfeoffed by him to others as sub-tenants...

, with his responsibilities being the counties of the south and west. The post, which involved large amounts of travel, handling of huge sums of money (over £7000 between 1277 and 1279) and the supervision of large building works at Devizes

Devizes

Devizes is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. The town is about southeast of Chippenham and about east of Trowbridge.Devizes serves as a centre for banks, solicitors and shops, with a large open market place where a market is held once a week...

, Banstead

Banstead

Banstead is a town in the borough of Reigate and Banstead in the county of Surrey, England, on the border with Greater London. It lies south of London, west of Croydon and of the county town of Kingston-Upon-Thames. Banstead is on the North Downs and is protected by the Metropolitan Green Belt;...

, and Odiham

Odiham

Odiham is a historic village and large civil parish in the Hart district of Hampshire, England. It is twinned with Sourdeval in the Manche Department of France. The current population is 4,406. The parish contains an acreage of 7,354 acres with 50 acres of land covered with water. The nearest...

, completely exhausted one of his colleagues.

He also acted as Keeper of the Port of Dover

Dover

Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...

, Keeper of the Forest of Dean

Forest of Dean

The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...

 and administrator of the See of Canterbury during the 1278–1279 vacancy. In 1280 he was appointed to negotiate for the site of New Winchelsea

Winchelsea

Winchelsea is a small village in East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately two miles south west of Rye and seven miles north east of Hastings...

. A member of the King's council, Sandwich was in 1278 appointed justice coram rege (in the presence of the King) for when the king was in Kent

Kent

Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

, and was with the judges when Alexander III of Scotland

Alexander III of Scotland

Alexander III was King of Scots from 1249 to his death.-Life:...

 paid homage in Westminster

Westminster

Westminster is an area of central London, within the City of Westminster, England. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, southwest of the City of London and southwest of Charing Cross...

 in October. In 1285 Edward took direct control of London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, appointing Sandwich as Warden of London on 1 July and Constable of the Tower

Constable of the Tower

The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the middle ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner - the king or a nobleman - was not in residence...

 on 10 September. Until 1293 Sandwich was the effective Mayor of London, and presided over the city's Court of Hustings

Husting

A husting originally referred to a physical platform from which representatives presented their views or cast votes before a parliamentary or other election body...

. He was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas

Chief Justice of the Common Pleas

The Court of Common Pleas, also known as the Common Bench or Common Place, was the second highest common law court in the English legal system until 1880, when it was dissolved. As such, the Chief Justice of the Common Pleas was one of the highest judicial officials in England, behind only the Lord...

 in 1289 after the previous holder, Sir Thomas Weyland

Thomas Weyland

Sir Thomas Weyland was a British justice. He was the third son of Herbert Weyland and his wife Beatrice; his three brothers, John, Richard and William, also pursued administrative and judicial careers. Thomas's first appearance in official records is in 1251 as an attorney for his brother John for...

, became a fugitive ‘until the king makes further provision’, and stepped down in 1290 after a replacement was found. Between 1286 and 1307 he sat every year as a justice at the original Old Bailey

Old Bailey

The Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...

, and sat as a justice at the trial of William Wallace

William Wallace

Sir William Wallace was a Scottish knight and landowner who became one of the main leaders during the Wars of Scottish Independence....

 at Westminster Hall in 1305.

He attended Edward II

Edward II of England

Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

's coronation in February 1308, and on 24 March turned the custody of the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

over to John Cromwell. He died before 20 August and was buried in Greyfriars Church.