Stephen de Segrave (c. 1171 – 9 November 1241) was a medieval Chief Justiciar

Justiciar

In medieval England and Ireland the Chief Justiciar was roughly equivalent to a modern Prime Minister as the monarch's chief minister. Similar positions existed on the Continent, particularly in Norman Italy. The term is the English form of the medieval Latin justiciarius or justitiarius In...

 of England.

Life

He was born the son of a certain Gilbert de Segrave of Segrave in Leicestershire

Leicestershire

Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...

, who had been High Sheriff of Warwickshire and Leicestershire in 1193.

Stephen became a knight

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

 and was made constable

Constable of the Tower

The Constable of the Tower is the most senior appointment at the Tower of London. In the middle ages a constable was the person in charge of a castle when the owner - the king or a nobleman - was not in residence...

 of the Tower of London

Tower of London

Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, separated from the eastern edge of the City of London by the open space...

 in 1220. He obtained lands and held various positions under Henry III. From 1221 to 1223 he served as High Sheriff of Hertfordshire

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire

The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years...

 and Essex

High Sheriff of Essex

The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient High Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years...

, from 1222 to 1224 as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...

, from 1228 to 1234 as High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire. One sheriff was appointed for both counties from 1125 until the end of 1575, after which date separate sheriffs were appointed...

 and from 1229 to 1234 as High Sheriff of Warwickshire

High Sheriff of Warwickshire

The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

, Leicestershire

High Sheriff of Leicestershire

This is a list of High Sheriffs of Leicestershire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred...

 and Northamptonshire

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire

This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire.The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been...

. In 1236, he became castellan of Beeston Castle

Beeston Castle

Beeston Castle is a former Royal castle in Beeston, Cheshire, England , perched on a rocky sandstone crag above the Cheshire Plain. It was built in the 1220s by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, , on his return from the Crusades...

 and Chester Castle

Chester Castle

Chester Castle is in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. It is sited at the southwest extremity of the area bounded by the city walls . The castle stands on an eminence overlooking the River Dee. In the castle complex are the remaining parts of the medieval castle together with the...

, jointly with Hugh de Spencer and Henry de Aldithley.

He was given the manor where Caludon Castle was built, at Wyken

Wyken

Wyken, a suburb of Coventry, England, is situated between the areas of Stoke and Walsgrave, three miles northeast of Coventry city centre. It is a fairly large ward spreading as far as the Binley area...

 near Coventry

Coventry

Coventry is a city and metropolitan borough in the county of West Midlands in England. Coventry is the 9th largest city in England and the 11th largest in the United Kingdom. It is also the second largest city in the English Midlands, after Birmingham, with a population of 300,848, although...

 in 1232 or earlier, by Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester

Ranulph de Blondeville, 4th Earl of Chester

Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester and 1st Earl of Lincoln , known in some references as the 4th Earl of Chester , was one of the "old school" of Anglo-Norman barons whose loyalty to the Angevin dynasty was consistent but contingent on the receipt of lucrative favours...

. Ranulph also granted him Bretby

Bretby

Bretby is a village in the south of Derbyshire, England, north of Swadlincote and east of Burton upon Trent, on the border between Derbyshire and Staffordshire. The name means "dwelling place of Britons"...

 in 1209.

In 1232, he succeeded Hubert de Burgh as chief justiciar of England. He officiated at the trial of de Burgh, in November 1232, which has been called the "first state trial" in England. As an active coadjutor of Peter des Roches

Peter des Roches

Peter des Roches was bishop of Winchester in the reigns of King John of England and his son Henry III. Roches was not an Englishman, but a Poitevin.-Life:...

, bishop of Winchester

Bishop of Winchester

The Bishop of Winchester is the head of the Church of England diocese of Winchester, with his cathedra at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire.The bishop is one of five Church of England bishops to be among the Lords Spiritual regardless of their length of service. His diocese is one of the oldest and...

, Segrave incurred some share of the opprobrium which was lavished on the Poitevin

Poitevin

Poitevin may refer to:* From or related to Poitou or to the town of Poitiers * Poitevin , the language spoken in the Poitou* Poitevin horse, a breed of draught horse from Poitou, France* Poitevin , a breed of dog...

 royal favourites of Henry III of England

Henry III of England

Henry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...

. In 1234, he was deprived of his office as Justiciar. Soon, however, he was again occupying an influential position at Henry's court, and he retained this until his death.

He died on 9th November 1241, and was buried in Leicester Abbey. He had married twice; firstly to Rohese le Despencer, daughter of Thomas le Despenser (producing no children)* and secondly to Ida de Hastings, daughter of William de Hastings and Margery Bigod of Norfolk, who bore him a son, Sir Gilbert de Segrave in 1202. Gilbert died at Pons, Poitou on 8th October 1254, following his capture during a campaign in Gascony.

• This is contradicted here: http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/cp/p_segrave.shtml#p601