John de Shriggeley

Sir John de Shriggeley, whose family name is also spelled Shirggeley and Shryggeley (died after 1403) was an Irish judge who held several important judicial offices, including Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. Despite committing two murders, he was regarded as a valued servant of the English Crown.

He was born in County Dublin, son of John de Shriggeley senior: the de Shriggeley family are said to have been fairly recent arrivals in Ireland from Cheshire, and took their family name from the village of Pott Shrigley.

The younger John in 1385 married Nicola, daughter of Nicholas Bathe, and widow of Sir Simon Cusacke of Beaurepaire, who had been a substantial landowner in County Meath. As the remarriage of a widow needed the Crown's consent, their marriage without a royal licence was technically an offence, but the couple quickly received a royal pardon, in consideration of John's "good service" to the Crown.

Nicola brought him a very substantial dowry, but they had considerable difficulty in asserting their rights to her lands at Culmullen in County Meath, the ownership of which was disputed by various relatives of Nicola's first husband. In 1393 Shriggeley and Nicola complained to the Crown that they had been unlawfully dispossessed of their lands for more than seven years. The dispute apparently turned violent over the following few years, as Shriggeley and one Geoffrey Cusacke (who was probably a nephew of Sir Simon Cusacke) were bound over in 1394-5 to be of good behaviour, to find men of good social standing to act as sureties for their good conduct, and to pledge to do no harm to each other. The Cusacke family continued the struggle to gain possession of Culmullen for at least another generation, long after Shriggeley's death.

Shriggeley was appointed second Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) in 1382. In 1385 he became Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. He became Chief Escheator of Ireland in 1386, and at the same time he was made Chief Clerk of the Markets and Keeper of the Weights and Measures for Ireland. He stepped down as Chief Justice in 1388.

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