Robert de Shardlow
Robert de Shardlow, or de Shardelaw (1200-c.1260) was a senior Crown official, diplomat and judge who had a distinguished career in both England and Ireland in the reign of King Henry III of England. He also became a substantial landowner in both countries. He is thought to have been born in the village of Shardlow in Derbyshire. The family was occasionally called Wardel. Little is known of his parents, but he had a brother Hugh, and at least one sister Isolda (later described as his "co-heiress"), who married Hervey de Hegham. He was described as a "clerk", that is a cleric, but he apparently took only minor orders: he was not an ordained priest, never received preferment within the Church, and was married with children. He was also described as "Master", which was a mark then of holding a University degree. He seems to have already been a valued Crown official in his late twenties: he was sent on a diplomatic mission to Rome in 1228, and was at the same time Constable of Guildford Castle. He was High Sheriff of Surrey, jointly with Henry de Wintershul, in 1231. He was an itinerant justice in England in 1228–32, whose circuit