{{short description|Member of the Parliament of England}}
{{For|those of the same or a similar name|John Frey (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} '''Sir John Fray''' (died 1461) was an English lawyer who was Chief Baron of the Exchequer and a Member of Parliament.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/fray-john-1461|title=FRAY, John (d.1461), of London and Munden Furnival, Herts.|publisher= History of Parliament Online|accessdate= 21 March 2018}}</ref>
== Biography ==
He was elected Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire in 1419 and 1420.<ref>[http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/fray-john-1461 History of Parliament Online: FRAY, John (d.1461), of London and Munden Furnival, Herts.], accessed June 2018.</ref>
He served on a number of commissions before being appointed Common Serjeant of London from 1421 to 1422 and Recorder of London from 1422 to 1426. He then served as Baron of the Exchequer from 1426 to 1436 and Chief Baron of the Exchequer from 1436 to 1448.<ref name="Sainty">Sir John Sainty (comp.) ''The Judges of England, 1272-1990: a list of the judges of the Superior courts'' (Selden Society: Supplementary Series 1993, 10).</ref>
He had considerable experience of rivers and watermills. Fray had the commission for maintaining the navigation of the River Lea around the years 1430–1440. He owned watermills in Essex and interests in other property across the country. These included Cowley Hall in Hillingdon which adjoined the Frays River. The Frays River is a branch of the River Colne which may have been developed to feed watermills in the area. It is said that John Fray arranged for the cutting of a link from the Colne to a tributary rising in Harefield to increase the water volume.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=8989 |title=London Borough of Hillingdon - River Frays |access-date=2008-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325104652/http://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/index.jsp?articleid=8989 |archive-date=2016-03-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
He was knighted before March 1459.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}
== Personal life and death == He died in 1461 and was buried in the church of St. Bartholomew the Less, London. He was the second husband of Agnes Danvers, daughter of fellow MP John Danvers,<ref>[http://historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/danvers-john-1449 History of Parliament Online: John Danvers (1386-1421)], accessed June 2018.</ref> and by her had five daughters. His eldest daughter Elizabeth married in turn Sir Thomas Waldegrave (1441–1500) and Sir William Saye (born 1454). His daughter Catherine (1437–1482) married Humphrey Stafford.
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{succession box | title = Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer| years = 1438–1438 | before = Sir John Juyn| after = Peter Ardern}} {{s-end}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Fray, John}} Category:1461 deaths Category:English MPs 1419 Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Barons of the Exchequer Category:Chief Barons of the Exchequer Category:15th-century English lawyers Category:Common Serjeants of London Category:Recorders of London Category:English MPs 1420 Category:Knights Bachelor Category:Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Hertfordshire
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