Sir Thomas Kyrkeby

Sir Thomas de Kyrkeby 1387-1476 - Master of the rolls of Chancery 1447-1461, also Canon of Windsor 1455-1457.   It is uncertain where he was born - possibly Mersyside area, near Liverpool as that is where many of the Lancastrian Kirbys originate.  Kirby (Kirkeby) is a name with possible early Scandinavian (Viking) roots which means 'by the church'.  It appears he died in Hertfordshire - just north of London - where the family resided for several generations - before moving into London. His son, John Kyrkeby, was born in Standon, Hertfordshire.  With the advent of the house of York's victory at Mortimer's Cross - and the subsequent crowning of Yorkist King, Edward IV - the ascendency of the Kirby family went down several notches and they were later represented in the London guilds - mostly in the textile guild or currier's guild.

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Sir Thomas Kyrkeby was likely an adherent of the House of Lancaster during the war of the Roses - given the dates he was in office as Master of the Rolls of Chancery, 1447 - 1461. From 1455 to 1457 he was also a Canon of Windsor.

Edward, Earl of March - the Yorkist contender during the War of the Roses - defeated the earls of Pembroke and Wiltshire at Mortimer's Cross in February, 1461, was acclaimed by the citizens of London, and crowned King Edward IV. After being crowned, Edward also won a crushing victory over the Lancastrians at the Battle of Towton in March, 1461.

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Master of the Rolls of the Court of Chancery

The title of the office derives from the fact that originally, the office-holder was a clerk responsible for keeping the "Rolls," or records, of the Chancery court. The post eventually evolved into a judicial one.

The Master of the Rolls is the third most senior judge of England, the Lord Chancellor being first and the Lord Chief Justice being second. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal.

The Court of Appeal is the second most senior court in the English Legal System (with only the judges of the House of Lords above it). The senior judge is the Master of the Rolls, who also has a function in the registration of every solicitor in England and Wales. The Court also includes the Lord Chief Justice, who is at the same time the head of the High Court of Justice, and thirty-five Lords Justices of Appeal.

Thomas De Kirkeby held this office 1447-1461 and was Canon of Windsor 1455-1457.

http://www.tudorplace.com.ar/Documents/master_of_the_rolls.html

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The image above is that of John Morton - who was Master of the Rolls of Chancery beginning in 1471 - ten years after Sir Thomas Kirkeby.