William Skrene

William Skrene (–1419/20) was an Irish-born barrister and judge who spent most of his adult life in England, where he became King's Serjeant and a judge of assize. He also served briefly as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1395-7. He acquired substantial lands in Essex.

Early life

He was probably born in 1357 or 1358. He came from a family originally from County Meath which derived its name from the village of Skryne, or Skreen. He had two sisters: Christina, whose descendants ultimately inherited her brother's estates, and Isabel, whose heirs unsuccessfully claimed the Skrene inheritance. He was called to the bar, but abandoned his plans to practice law in Ireland. He opted to practise in England instead, and became a Serjeant-at-law in 1396, and King's Serjeant in 1408.

Law Officer and judge

In 1394 he obtained the permission required for an alien to settle in England permanently, and he was exempted from any requirement to contribute to the defence of Ireland. He did return to Ireland as part of the entourage of King Richard II, on the King's visit to that Kingdom in the autumn of 1394. He was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1395, but he seems to have served in that office for only two years, before returning to England, where he remained for the rest of his life.

The ultimate beneficiaries from Sir John Skrene's death were the heirs of the elder William's sister Christina: these were her great-grandchildren John Clerk and Christina Colton. In the winter of 1476/7 they submitted a joint petition to the Irish Parliament asking to have their right to the Skrene lands recognised. As they were able to prove that their mothers were the daughters of Christina's only surviving daughter Margaret, the claim was successful, and an Act of Parliament was passed recognising their rights. A rival claim to the estate by Richard Ayston of Colchester, who claimed to be the son of another sister of William Skrene, Isabel Ayston, was unsuccessful.