William Skrene
William Skrene (c.1350-1421) was an Irish-born lawyer and judge who spent most of his adult life in England, where he became a prominent landowner and magistrate; he also served briefly as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.[1]
He was born in County Meath, to a family which derived its name from the village of Skryne, or Skreen, in that county.[2] By his own account he endeavoured for several years to study law, but was hampered by the fact that Ireland, until the sixteenth century, had no law school. In 1380 he obtained the necessary permission to go to England to study law at Clifford's Inn.[3] He was called to the bar and became a Serjeant-at-law in 1396.[4]
In 1394 he obtained leave to settle in England permanently, and he was also exempted from any requirement to contribute to the defence of Ireland. Nonetheless he did return to Ireland as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1395, but he seems to have served in that capacity for little more than a year before returning permanently to live in England.[5]
He acted regularly as a justice of the peace in England, and sat on numerous commissions for the peace, especially in Essex, where he became a major landowner, acquiring the manors of Writtle, Great Finborough and Stanford Rivers.[6] He also had a London house in the parish of St Mary le Strand. He died in 1421.[7]
He married Alice, daughter of Sir William Rykhill, and had three children: William, his heir, who died in 1431, Thomas and Margaret. Sir John Skrene (died 1475), the younger William's grandson, was the last of the name.[8] His death resulted in Skrene's case, which was of some importance on the law of wardship.[9]