Stephen of Thornham was a British justice and administrator. He was the son of Robert of Thornham, a Kentish landowner, and the older brother of Robert of Thornham

Robert of Thornham

Robert of Thornham was an English soldier and administrator. The namesake of his landowner father, he was the younger brother of Stephen of Thornham. Robert made his reputation in connection with the conquest of Cyprus in 1191 during the Third Crusade. On order of King Richard I, he led half the...

, and first came to official attention in 1170 when, along with his father, he acted as a benefactor to Combwell Priory. He served Henry II

Henry II of England

Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...

, and in 1188 was one of the agents tasked with ensuring the return of normal religious service in Canterbury after a dispute between the Archbishop and local monks, with Henry rewarding him for his work with lands in Artington

Artington

Artington is a village and civil parish in the borough of Guildford, in Surrey, England, lying on the edge of the built-up area of Guildford. It is about mile and a half south of Guildford town centre, and west of the River Wey, above the ford which gave Guildford its name and on the North Downs...

, Surrey

Surrey

Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

. After Henry died in 1189 Thornham served his son and successor, Richard I

Richard I of England

Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...

, with the same loyalty and skill. In 1190 he accompanied Richard on the Third Crusade

Third Crusade

The Third Crusade , also known as the Kings' Crusade, was an attempt by European leaders to reconquer the Holy Land from Saladin...

, visiting Jerusalem in 1192, and in 1193 he escorted Queen Berengaria

Berengaria of Navarre

Berengaria of Navarre was Queen of the English as the wife of King Richard I of England. She was the eldest daughter of King Sancho VI of Navarre and Sancha of Castile. As is the case with many of the medieval queens consort of the Kingdom of England, relatively little is known of her life...

 and Joan of England

Joan of England, Queen of Sicily

Joan of England was the seventh child of Henry II of England and his queen consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine.Joan was a younger maternal half-sister of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France...

 on their journey from Palestine to 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...

.

After this his work was limited to England, managing royal 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...

s and 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...

s, as well as vacant Bishoprics. Although these jobs made the holder unpopular, he apparently had a good reputation, with Adam of Eynsham

Adam of Eynsham

Adam of Eynsham was a medieval English chronicler and writer. He was also abbot of Eynsham Abbey.Adam was born around 1155 in Oxford to a middle-class family. His father, a doctor in Oxford, was named Edmund. Edmund's other children included William and Edmund.Adam entered Eynsham Abbey, where he...

 describing him as ‘a faithful and godly man and devoted to our holy bishop’. From 1197 until 1200 he served as High Sheriff of Berkshire

High Sheriff of Berkshire

The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'....

 and Wiltshire

High Sheriff of Wiltshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Wiltshire.Until the 14th century the shrievalty was held ex officio by the castellans of Old Sarum.-To 1400:*1066: Edric*1067-1070: Philippe de Buckland*1085: Aiulphus the Sheriff*1070–1105: Edward of Salisbury...

, and in 1198 as High Sheriff of Lancashire

High Sheriff of Lancashire

The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales...

. His royal favour faltered after 1200, but he was still a favorite of John, serving at various times as warden to Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany

Eleanor, Fair Maid of Brittany

Eleanor the "Fair Maid of Brittany", 5th Countess of Richmond , also known as Damsel of Brittany or Pearl of Brittany for her peerless beauty, was the eldest daughter of Geoffrey Plantagenet and Constance, Duchess of Brittany...

, Isabella of Angoulême

Isabella of Angoulême

Isabella of Angoulême was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John's death in 1216. They had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III...

 and the future Henry III

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...

. He died on 6 March 1214 with no sons, leaving his possessions to his five daughters and their husbands.