Christopher Fleming was an Irish nobleman, who was Lord High Treasurer of Ireland from 1514 until his death. He succeeded as 8th Baron in 1492.

Family

Chirstopher was the eldest son of James Fleming, 7th Baron Slane

James Fleming, 7th Baron Slane

James Fleming was a member of the Irish Parliament in 1491 and sheriff of County Meath.James was the son of William Fleming and his wife the former Janet Rochfort. He succeeded to the title of his 1st cousin once removed, Thomas Fleming, 6th Baron Slane in 1471...

.His mother was Elizabeth Welles, daughter of William Welles

William Welles

Sir William Welles was an English-born statesman and judge in fifteenth-century Ireland, who held the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland: he was the brother of Lionel de Welles, 6th Baron Welles, a prominent supporter of the House of Lancaster, who was killed at the Battle of Towton.-...

, Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...

 . He married firstly Lady Elilis FitzGerald, daughter of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare

Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare

Gerald Mór FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, KG , known variously as "Garret the Great" or "The Great Earl" , was Ireland's premier peer...

 by his first wife Alison FiitzEustace, daughter of Rowland, Baron Portlester. After Ellis' death Christopher married secondly Elizabeth Stucley, daughter of Nicholas Stucley.

By his first wife Christopher had three children:

• James Fleming, 9th Baron Slane
• Eleanor
• Catherine, who married Sir Christopher Barnewall and was the main heiress of her brother who died childless.

Slane Friary

Today Christopher Fleming is best remembered for his religious foundations. In 1512, on the site of an earlier abbey at Slane

Slane

Slane is a village in County Meath, in Ireland. The village stands on a steep hillside on the left bank of the River Boyne at the intersection of the N2 and the N51 . In 2006 Slane's population was 1,099, having grown from 823 in 2002. The population of the village and the surrounding rural area...

, he built a friary and college for the Franciscan

Franciscan

Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....

order. The friary was later abandoned, but its ruins are still one of the best known sights of Slane.

Sources

• G. E. C., ed. Geoffrey F. White. The Complete Peerage. (London: St. Chaterine Press, 1953) Vol. XII, Part 1, p. 3-4.