John Spelman (judge)

Sir John Spelman (died 1546) was an English judge from Norfolk, noted for his composition of law reports.

[1][2] Born about 1480, he was the fourth son and youngest child of Henry Spelman (died 1496), of Bekerton in Stow Bedon, a lawyer and judge who was a Reader of Gray's Inn and Recorder of Norwich, and his second wife Ela, widow of Thomas Shouldham (died 1472), of Marham, and daughter and coheiress of William Narborough, of Narborough.

[1] in 1521 he bought from Sir Edmund Knyvett and his wife Anne the portion of the manor of Bydon in Stow Bedon that he did not already own.

[1][4]His fame comes from his compilation of law reports, starting not only with cases he attended in court but also with lectures and seminars held at Gray's Inn.

After her second husband's death in 1547, she married William Dodd and died on 5 November 1556, being buried at North Mimms.