# Roger Cholmeley > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roger_Cholmeley > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Roger_Cholmeley.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Cholmeley > Source revision: 1344624164 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{short description|English judge; founder of Highgate School}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2019}} '''Sir Roger Cholmeley''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ʌ|m|l|i}} {{respell|CHUM|lee}}; sometimes spelled '''Cholmley''' or '''Cholmondeley'''; {{c.|1485}} – 21 June 1565) was [Lord Chief Justice](/source/Lord_Chief_Justice) of the [Court of King's Bench](/source/Court_of_King's_Bench_(England)) from 1552 to 1553. From 1535 to 1545 he was [Recorder of London](/source/Recorder_of_London) and served in the [House of Commons](/source/British_House_of_Commons). He is possibly best remembered for his endowment to found a free grammar school, [Highgate School](/source/Highgate_School), at London. ==Background and early life== Cholmeley was the illegitimate son of Sir [Richard Cholmeley](/source/Richard_Cholmondeley) of [Yorkshire](/source/Yorkshire) (c. 1460 – 1521), who served as Lieutenant of the [Tower of London](/source/Tower_of_London) from 1513 to 1520. Cholmeley's family can be traced back to the 12th-century Robert de Chelmundelegh, second son of William le Belward, who inherited parts of the Barony of Malpas (for which [Malpas, Cheshire](/source/Malpas%2C_Cheshire), is named), including Cholmondeley, Cheshire, previously held by Robert Fitzhugh. Over the centuries, the family name was spelt in many variants as [Middle English](/source/Middle_English) developed away from French influences. Different branches of the family still spell the name differently, and [Cholmeley's most famous cousins](/source/Marquess_of_Cholmondeley), of [Cholmondeley, Cheshire](/source/Cholmondeley%2C_Cheshire), spell it "Cholmondeley".[http://www.thornber.net/cheshire/htmlfiles/cholmond.html Cholmondeley family history]{{Cite web |url=http://www.stirnet.com/html/genie/british/cc4aq/cholmondeley04.htm |title=Genealogy of this branch of Cholmeley family |access-date=14 May 2012 |archive-date=17 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091017100715/http://www.stirnet.com/HTML/genie/british/cc4aq/cholmondeley04.htm |url-status=dead }} The pronunciation and spelling are neither counterintuitive nor phonetic, but as used down the ages. Roger Cholmeley was educated to the law at [Lincoln's Inn](/source/Lincoln's_Inn) from 1506. Despite thrice being expelled from the Inn,{{cite web|title=Dr Dabby's 'Loyal to the Crown' lecture|url=http://www.highgateschool.org.uk/news/34-summer-2015/1475-dr-dabby-s-loyal-to-the-crown-lecture|accessdate=29 June 2015}} he entered the legal profession.{{cite ODNB|id=5342|title=Cholmley, Sir Roger (c. 1485–1565), judge|first=Baker|last=J. H.}}Will and probate for Sir Richard Cholmeley, National Archives Records: Consistory Court of Canterbury, Wills and Probates 1383-1558 vol. 1 & 2 (J. G. Challenor Smith) December 1521 and March 1522, available online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk ==Career== Most of Cholmeley's career as a lawyer was spent in the [City of London](/source/City_of_London), but he lived at [Highgate](/source/Highgate) in [Middlesex](/source/Middlesex). In 1520 he was called as a [bencher](/source/bencher) of [Lincoln's Inn](/source/Lincoln's_Inn), in 1531 became a [serjeant-at-law](/source/serjeant-at-law), and in November 1534 was [knight](/source/knight)ed. From 1535 to 1545 he was [Recorder](/source/Recorder_(law)) of [London](/source/City_of_London), during which time he was one of the [city](/source/London_(UK_Parliament_constituency))'s [Members of Parliament](/source/member_of_parliament) in four [Parliaments](/source/British_House_of_Commons). In November 1545 Cholmeley became [Chief Baron of the Exchequer](/source/Chief_Baron_of_the_Exchequer), and in May 1552 was appointed [Chief Justice of the King's Bench](/source/Chief_Justice_of_the_King's_Bench). He was Lord Chief Justice for only a year as [Queen Mary I](/source/Mary_I_of_England) would not reappoint him. The same year, he was imprisoned for a month and fined for signing [Lady Jane Grey](/source/Lady_Jane_Grey)'s instrument of succession as Queen. He returned to work as a [barrister](/source/barrister) and was a Member of Parliament for [Middlesex](/source/Middlesex_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) from 1554 to 1559. Princess (later Queen) [Elizabeth I](/source/Elizabeth_I) stayed the night of 15 Feb 1555 at Cholmeley's residence in Highgate. ==Highgate School== Cholmeley founded [Highgate School](/source/Highgate_School), which was established by [royal charter](/source/royal_charter) in 1565. [Former pupils of the school](/source/%3ACategory%3APeople_educated_at_Highgate_School) are known as ''Old Cholmeleians'' in his memory. The school has gone on to become a leading independent school (sometimes referred to as a public school). Old Cholmeleians include [John Venn](/source/John_Venn), the creator of [Venn diagrams](/source/Venn_diagrams), poets [Gerard Manley Hopkins](/source/Gerard_Manley_Hopkins) and [John Betjeman](/source/John_Betjeman), and musicians [John Tavener](/source/John_Tavener) and [John Rutter](/source/John_Rutter). ==Death== Cholmeley died in London on 21 June 1565. He was buried at [St Martin, Ludgate](/source/St_Martin%2C_Ludgate).{{cite web |title=Notes to the diary: 1558 Pages 362-369 The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, 1550-1563. O |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/camden-record-soc/vol42/pp362-369 |website=British History Online |publisher=Camden Society, 1848 |access-date=11 December 2022}} He willed property to nephew Jasper. ==Family== He married Christine Hurst, who died in 1558. They had two daughters: *Elizabeth, married first to Sir Leonard Beckwith of Selby, Yorkshire, and secondly (1559) to Christopher Kern of Kern, Somersetshire; *Frances, the other daughter, was married to Sir Thomas Russell of Strensham, Worcestershire.{{cite DNB|wstitle=Cholmley, Roger |first=George Fisher Russell|last= Barker|volume=10}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==Further reading== * {{cite book|last1=Dabby|first1=Benjamin|title=Loyal to the Crown: The Extraordinary Life of Sir Roger Cholmeley|date=2015|publisher=[Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate](/source/Highgate_School)|location=London|isbn=978-0-9932982-0-2}} * {{cite journal|last1=Dabby|first1=Benjamin|title=From thenceforth for ever|journal=The Cholmeleian|issue=450th Anniversary Issue Summer 2015|pages=38–41|url=http://www.highgateschool.org.uk/images/news/cholmeleian_summer15.pdf}} {{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{succession box | title=[Lord Chief Justice](/source/Lord_Chief_Justice) | before = [Richard Lyster](/source/Richard_Lyster) | after = [Thomas Bromley](/source/Thomas_Bromley) | years = 1552–1553}} |- {{succession box | before=[Sir Richard Lyster](/source/Richard_Lyster) | title=[Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer](/source/Lord_Chief_Baron_of_the_Exchequer) | years=1545–1552 | after=[Henry Bradshaw](/source/Henry_Bradshaw_(jurist))}} {{s-end}} {{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Cholmeley, Roger}} Category:1480s births Category:1565 deaths Category:People from Highgate Category:Founders of English schools and colleges Category:Lord chief justices of England and Wales Category:Chief Barons of the Exchequer Category:16th-century English judges Category:Recorders of London Category:16th-century English knights Roger Category:Serjeants-at-law (England) Category:English MPs 1529–1536 Category:English MPs 1536 Category:English MPs 1539–1540 Category:English MPs 1542–1544 Category:English MPs 1554–1555 Category:English MPs 1555 Category:English MPs 1558 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Roger Cholmeley](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Cholmeley) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Cholmeley?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.