John Juyn

Who was John Juyn?

Sir John Juyn SL was a British judge. He was the son of John Juhyne, a wool merchant from Bristol, and his wife Margery. After the death of his father in 1390, Juyn inherited his estates in Bristol, Bedminster and Knowle, and his contacts with the Bristolian merchant community helped with his career; between 1422 and 1438 he served as Recorder of Bristol, and also acted as a feoffee for many of the city's leading merchants. His first appearance in records was in 1407, as a mainpernor for some Bristolian merchants sued for debt by London. He was appointed serjeant-at-law in 1415, but avoided taking this position and its financial burden until 1418. Between 1416 and 1422 he served as legal counsel for the Duchy of Lancaster, settling the matter of the Bohun estate, dividing it between Henry V and Lady Anne Hastings, and also served as counsel to Thomas, Duke of Clarence between 1418 and 1420.

He travelled the Western circuit as an Assize justice between 1422 and 1424 before switching to the Home Counties circuit following his double-appointment as both Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer and Justice of the Court of Common Pleas on 5 May 1423.