Walter Cotterell

Walter FitzWilliam Cotterell (died c. 1388/9) was an Irish barrister and Crown official of the late fourteenth century. He was Serjeant-at-law (Ireland) and acted from time to time as a judge of gaol delivery and of assize, although he was never a justice in the Royal Courts. The evidence suggests that he was a conscientious and hard-working official who enjoyed the complete trust of the English Crown.

He was born in Kells, County Kilkenny, the son of William Cotterell. The family had a long-standing association with Kells, and later lived in Kilkenny city. His father was acting as a judge in the 1360s, as was John Cotterell, who was presumably Walter's uncle. Patent Roll 37 Edward III



Career
He was appointed King's Serjeant in 1374. His salary was 100 shillings a year. As was often the case his appointment was limited in area, in his career to Munster, County Wexford and County Kilkenny. By that time he was already a valued Crown servant, who had been entrusted in 1359 with collecting a subsidy. In 1373-4 he conducted "numerous inquisitions" on behalf of the Crown, and was given the power to arrest ships, for which labour he received a fee of 10 marks (£6.66). The inquisitions in question lasted for four weeks and his travels on official business required the use of eight horses. Shortly afterwards he was appointed to a three-man commission into the Crown's right of treasure trove in County Wexford, which lasted for 2 weeks; he did not receive a fee. The other two members were both serving High Court judges, John Keppock and William de Karlell, an indication of Cotterell's high standing with the Crown. In 1374 he was summoned to a meeting of the Great Council to be held in England to discuss Irish affairs. In 1375 he was commissioned as one of the four justices for gaol delivery in Waterford city, and it was specified that he must always be included on the commission. In addition he and John de Sotheron, during his brief tenure as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, were appointed to deal with those petitions which would normally be dealt with by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, William Tany, who was then absent in England.

In 1388 he received permission to go on a pilgrimage to Rome, and may have died on the journey or in Rome itself, as his name disappears from the official records thereafter. Chief Justice Tirel, for whom Cotterell had often acted as Deputy, was ordered to sit as Justice in Carlow in his place in 1389. Cotterell's precise date of death is not recorded.

Family
He had a son, William, who was a burgess of Kilkenny in the early 1380s. It is unclear if they were related to Sir Patrick Cotterell, who was Deputy Admiral of Ireland in 1412-14. Sir John Cotterell of Kells, who was executed with Sir Eustace le Poer (a member of one of the dominant landowning families in County Tipperary and Kilkenny) for taking part in the rebellion of Maurice FitzGerald, 1st Earl of Desmond in 1346, was a cousin of William. Robert Cotterell, possibly another relative of William, was appointed a justice of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) in 1388. Patrick Cotterell of Kilkenny received a royal pardon for various offences in 1407. A later William Cotterell, probably a direct descendant, was appointed justice and Keeper of the Peace for Kilkenny in 1431.