Edmund de Grimsby

Edmund de Grimsby (died 1354) was an English cleric, Crown official and judge. While his career in Ireland was a brief one , lasting only about a year, he remains notable as having been the first Master of the Rolls in Ireland.

He derived his name from his birthplace of Grimsby, Lincolnshire.^[1] It is very likely that he spent his last years there: certainly he retained close links with the town throughout his life, building several houses and endowing a chantry there.^[2]

St. James' Church, Grimsby: this is the town's last surviving medieval church.

He was parish priest of East Keal in 1322 and of Preston in 1325; he also held the Scottish living of Moffat. In later life he received several further clerical preferments, notably as prebendary of St. Paul's Cathedral.^[3]

Church of St Helen, East Keal, where Grimmsby was parish priest in the 1320s

In 1330, he was referred to as a royal clerk. In 1333 it was decided that the Lord Chancellor of Ireland required a Keeper or Master of the Rolls to assist him.^[4] Grimsby was chosen to be the first Master: he did go to Ireland but returned to England a year later. He resumed his English position as a clerk in Chancery and had custody of the Great Seal in 1340 and 1351. He died in 1354.^[5]

References

1. Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p.73
2. Ball p.73
3. Ball p.73
4. Ball p.33
5. Ball p.73