John de Grauntsete was an English born judge in fourteenth-century Ireland. We know more about him than we do about any of his colleagues, and from the surviving information we can form some idea of the lifestyle of an Irish judge in his time. He sat in turn in each of the Irish Courts of common law, and uniquely, he is known to have appeared in Court as an advocate even after he became a judge.
Early career
He was a native of Grantchester in Cambridgeshire: his surname is an early form of the town's name. He seems to have been in practice as a lawyer by 1300 and in 1302 was nominated by the Bishop of Ely to be his attorney. He came to Dublin in about 1308. He married Alice de Morton, daughter and co-heiress of Geoffrey de Morton, who was Lord Mayor of Dublin and one of the city's wealthiest shipowners and his wife Maud de Bree: they had no children. He acquired a house abutting the city wall, close to old Dublin Bridge, now Father Mathew Bridge; he later completed two small towers, one at each end of the bridge, and began the building of a chapel there. He also owned property in Castle Street in Dublin city centre, and at Oxmantown to the north of Dublin city. His property by the bridge included the Dublin "fish-house", for the upkeep of which he was responsible. He was given a licence to pierce the city wall, in order to provide his house with sufficient light. He continued to practice law, and was acting as legal adviser to the owner of Rathfarnham Castle in 1320. In 1326 he was made second Baron of the Court of Exchequer and in the following year he was transferred to the Court of Common Pleas.
Judge and advocate?
His career suffered a serious reverse due to a curious episode in 1329 when the former Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, Walter de Islip, was engaged in litigation with one William de London. Grauntsete appeared as advocate for de London: his conduct in appearing as an advocate after his appointment to the Bench is unique in the history of the common law. He then proceeded to offend the judges by reading out letters of excommunication from the Papal Court. He was charged with attempting to subvert the Royal authority in favour of that of the Pope, deprived of office, imprisoned and fined. King Edward III however soon granted him a royal pardon and he was restored to office.
Later career
Edward III clearly thought well of him, and invited him to England twice to discuss Irish affairs. In 1331 he was transferred to the Court of King's Bench. About that time he became custodian of Leixlip Castle, with the right of possession of the manor and its fishery. Technically for a serving judge to acquire property was an offence, for which transgression John obtained another royal pardon. He was a noted benefactor of the Priory of Holy Trinity, now Christchurch Cathedral, Dublin. After his wife's death in about 1335 the Prior of Holy Trinity ordained that two canons of the Priory would pray for his health, and one after his death would pray for the souls of himself and his wife. Grauntsete obtained a licence to erect a chapel in St. Michan's Church, and also to build St. Mary's Chapel on Dublin Bridge itself. He was also a benefactor of the Order of the Hospitallers at Kilmainham Priory, and it was at Kilmainham that he spent his later years. In return for his benefactions to the Priory he was given a large suite of servants to attend to his needs, three horses and the right to dine at the Prior's table. He was still alive in November 1348, when he appears to have been visiting England, possibly in connection with the licence to build the chapel of St Mary's on the Bridge, which had been granted to him the previous month.
