Life and career

Basset was possibly the son of Simon Basset of Sapcote

Sapcote

Sapcote is a small village in the south west of Leicestershire, England, with a population of approximately 2,700. The well-known inland scuba diving site Stoney Cove is nearby.It was mentioned in the Domesday Book as Scepecote...

, but his parentage is uncertain. Forfeited for rebellion in 1216 during the First Barons' War

First Barons' War

The First Barons' War was a civil war in the Kingdom of England, between a group of rebellious barons—led by Robert Fitzwalter and supported by a French army under the future Louis VIII of France—and King John of England...

, he was restored on returning to his allegiance in 1217. He assisted as a 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...

 in assessing the fifteenth for Derbyshire

Derbyshire

Derbyshire is a county in the East Midlands of England. A substantial portion of the Peak District National Park lies within Derbyshire. The northern part of Derbyshire overlaps with the Pennines, a famous chain of hills and mountains. The county contains within its boundary of approx...

 and Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire

Nottinghamshire is a county in the East Midlands of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west...

 in 1225, and was appointed a justice itinerant

Eyre (legal term)

An Eyre or Iter was the name of a circuit traveled by an itinerant justice in medieval England, or the circuit court he presided over , or the right of the king to visit and inspect the holdings of any vassal...

 for these counties on 27 May 1226. He again appears as a justice itinerant in 1227 and 1232, and he probably died about July 1249, when Robert, his heir, did homage.

Another William Basset was an advocate under Edward II

Edward II of England

Edward II , called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed by his wife Isabella in January 1327. He was the sixth Plantagenet king, in a line that began with the reign of Henry II...

 and Edward III

Edward III of England

Edward III was King of England from 1327 until his death and is noted for his military success. Restoring royal authority after the disastrous reign of his father, Edward II, Edward III went on to transform the Kingdom of England into one of the most formidable military powers in Europe...

, and was elevated to the bench of the Common Pleas

Court of Common Pleas (England)

The Court of Common Pleas, or Common Bench, was a common law court in the English legal system that covered "common pleas"; actions between subject and subject, which did not concern the king. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century after splitting from the Exchequer of Pleas, the Common...

 about 1337. On 18 October 1341 he was transferred to the King's Bench

King's Bench

The Queen's Bench is the superior court in a number of jurisdictions within some of the Commonwealth realms...

, where he sat till about 1350.