Ralph Basset
| Ralph Basset | |
|---|---|
| Royal justice | |
|
In office 1110–1127 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Died |
c. 1127 Northampton |
| Spouse(s) | A. |
| Children |
Richard Basset Nicholas Ralph Turstin |
Ralph Basset (sometimes Bassett; died c. 1127) was a medieval English royal justice during the reign of King Henry I of England. He was a native of Normandy, and may have come to Henry's notice while Henry held land in Normandy prior to becoming king. Basset is first mentioned in documents about 1102, and from then until his death around 1127, he was frequently employed as a royal justice. His son Richard Basset also became a royal judge.
Basset was a native of Montreuil-au-Houlme near Domfront in Normandy, and possibly came to the notice of King Henry while Henry was count of Domfort during the reign of Henry's older brother King William II of England (1087–1100). Either Basset himself or an earlier person with the same name held lands of Robert d'Oilly that were recorded in Domesday Book as in Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. If the Ralph in Domesday was not the same as the judge, the Domesday Ralph may have been the judge's father. Other Bassets in the area were also recorded in Domesday, including a Wiliam and a Richard. It is not clear how or if they were related to Ralph. Ralph the judge held lands in Montreuil that in 1150 were considered to be worth two English manors. He held lands in Wallingford and Colston Basset. The lands in Wallingford were worth 16 and a third knight's fees.
The first secure mentions of Basset are in royal charters dating to around 1102, where he appears as a witness. He then appears as a judge in a royal dispute with the sheriff of Yorkshire. Basset is named as one of the commissioners of the Liber Winton, a survey of the landholdings in the city of Winchester which took place at some point between 1103 and 1115, probably close to 1110. From his Norman lands, Basset is recorded as donating lands to the Abbey of Saint-Evroul in 1113. in 1111 Basset took part in the Michaelmas session of the Exchequer, and he continued to take part in financial affairs and can be considered as an early Baron of the Exchequer.
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