East Dean (de East Dean, Estdene, Estdean), William
(fl.
On 17 April 1292 he was appointed treasurer of the Irish exchequer; he was present during the audit of the accounts of Nicholas de Clere (qv), and before setting out for Ireland consulted with the officials of the English exchequer about the state of the treasury at Dublin. The result of these discussions was an ordinance bringing the practices of the Irish exchequer into line with its counterpart at Westminster and imposing a number of checks on the procedure of accounting for revenues. He arrived in Ireland in June 1292, and in July the following year he was one of those officials ordered to ensure that the summons of royal service in Ireland issued by the justiciar, William de Vescy (qv), be revoked because of fears that it might be used against his rival John fitz Thomas FitzGerald (qv). In the same month the king granted him the royal manor of Chapelizod to hold at farm. In December 1293 he was placed on a commission to inquire into the various complaints levelled against de Vescy, and in April the next year was summoned to England to submit his findings personally in parliament; he was also one of a committee of three charged with finding a suitable justiciar. Much of his time as treasurer from 1294 was spent in requisitioning supplies and raising finance in Ireland for the king's wars against France and Scotland; on more than one occasion he received thanks for his efforts.
He was replaced as treasurer by Richard de Barford (qv) on 8 June 1300, though he continued to act in that office till Michelmas that year. An industrious and conscientious administrator, he seems to be one of the few treasurers of this period not to have a multitude of complaints brought against him or to be charged with peculation or maladministration.