Sir William Hussey | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1443 |
| Died | 8 September 1495(1495-09-08) (aged 51–52) |
| Buried | Sempringham,Lincolnshire,England |
| Spouse | Elizabeth Berkeley |
| Issue | John Hussey, 1st Baron Hussey of Sleaford Sir Robert Hussey Sir William Hussey Elizabeth Hussey Mary Hussey |
| Father | John Hussey |
| Mother | Elizabeth Nesfield (or Neffield) |
Sir William Hussey (orHuse orHusee) ofSleaford,Lincolnshire,SL (1443 – 8 September 1495) was an English lawyer who served asAttorney General and asChief Justice of the King's Bench.
Hussey was the son of John Hussey (or Huse or Husee) ofOld Sleaford,Lincolnshire, and his wife, Elizabeth Nesfield (or Neffield), ofYorkshire.[1]
He was a member ofGray's Inn, and on 16 June 1471 was appointedAttorney General, with full power of deputing clerks and officers under him in courts of record. As Attorney General he conducted the impeachment of theDuke of Clarence for treason. In Trinity term of 1478 he was made aSerjeant-at-Law, and on 7 May 1481 was appointedChief Justice of the King's Bench, in succession to SirThomas Billing, at a salary of 140 marks a year. This appointment was renewed at the ascension of each of the next three kings, and underHenry VII, he was also a commissioner to decide the claims made to fill various offices at the coronation.[2]
In the first year of this reign, he successfully protested against theking's practice of consulting the judges beforehand upon crown cases which they were subsequently to try. In June 1492, he was a commissioner to treat with the ambassadors of theKing of France.[2] He died 8 September 1495,[1] and was buried atSempringham.[3] On 24 November of that year, SirJohn Fineux succeeded him asChief Justice.[2]
About 1474, Sir William Hussey married Elizabeth Berkeley (c. 1453 – 1504), daughter ofSir Thomas Berkeley ofWymondham,Leicestershire, and wife Petronella Brokesby or Brooksby. They had three sons and two daughters: