Sir Edward Bolton (1592–1659) was an English-born judge who served for many years as

Solicitor General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On ra ...

before succeeding his father

Sir Richard Bolton Sir Richard Bolton (January 1570 – November 1648) was an English lawyer and judge, who was an important figure in Irish political life in the 1630s and 1640s. Life He was the son of John Bolton, of Fenton, Staffordshire and Margaret Ash, d ...

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). The Irish Court of Exchequer was a mirror of the equivalent court in England and was one of the four courts which sat in the buildin ...

. He was the only surviving son of Richard Bolton and his first wife Frances Walter, daughter of Richard Walter. He was born in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, probably at the family home at

Fenton, Staffordshire Fenton is one of the six towns that amalgamated with Hanley, Tunstall, Burslem, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent to form the county borough of Stoke-on-Trent in 1910, later raised to city status in 1925. Fenton is often referred to as "the Forgo ...

. He was baptised on 5 October 1592 in

St Mary's Church, Stafford St Mary's Church, Stafford is a Grade I listed parish church in Stafford, Staffordshire, England. History The church dates from the early 13th century, with 14th century transepts and 15th century clerestories and crossing tower. Excavations i ...

. His father moved to

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

when Edward was twelve. He graduated from the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin ( ga, Ollscoil Átha Cliath), corporately designated the Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a university located in Dublin, Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dubl ...

, then attended

Clement's Inn The Inns of Chancery or ''Hospida Cancellarie'' were a group of buildings and legal institutions in London initially attached to the Inns of Court and used as offices for the clerks of chancery, from which they drew their name. Existing from a ...

and

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

, and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1616. When still only thirty, on 5 December 1623 he was made

and held that office for seventeen years. He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the Christian denomination, church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood ...

in Dublin in 1636 by

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford, (13 April 1593 ( N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament and was a supporter of King Charles I. From 1 ...

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

. Strafford was for several years almost all-powerful in Ireland, and Edward's father was one of his strongest supporters. When his father became

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland (commonly known as Lord Chancellor of Ireland) was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801, it was also the highest political office of ...

in 1639, Edward was appointed Chief Baron in his place, and frequently went as a judge on the Northwestern Circuit. The troubles of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

led to the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

and execution of their patron Strafford, his father's

impeachment Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

and his own removal from office. He spent the years 1642–44 in England. However in time he made his peace with

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

, and acted as a judge of the High Court of Justice in 1652–3. He died in 1659 and was buried in St. Bride's Church, Dublin. In 1637 he was granted the estate of Lissenhall near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

; he also acquired the manor of Bective, County Meath. His principal residence was Brazil (or Brazeel) House, near

Swords, County Dublin Swords ( or ), the county town of Fingal, is a large suburban town on the east coast of Ireland, situated ten kilometres north of Dublin city centre. The town was reputedly founded . Located on the Ward River, Swords features Swords Castle, ...

, which was largely destroyed by fire in 1810, although some ruins survived until 1978. He married Isabella Ayloffe, daughter of William Ayloffe,

serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

, of

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

. They had four children, Nicholas, Edward, Anne, and Mary. Bolton ''Bolton Families of Ireland'' Nicholas's descendants remained at Brazil until 1810. Anne, through her second husband Alexander Pigott, was an ancestor of the

Pigott Baronets The Pigott Baronetcy, of Knapton in the County Laois, Queen's County, is a title in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. It was created on 3 October 1808, for George Pigott. Pigott was the son of Thomas Pigott (general), Thomas Pigott, a major ...

Dudley Loftus Dr Dudley Loftus (1619 – June 1695) was an Anglo-Irish jurist and noted orientalist. Loftus was born the second son of Sir Adam Loftus and his wife Jane Vaughan, daughter of Walter Vaughan, into a family of 17 siblings on his great-grandfather ...

, the noted Orientalist, married one of Edward's granddaughters, Frances Nagle, daughter of Mary Bolton. Isabella died in 1674.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bolton, Edward 1592 births 1659 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn People from Fenton, Staffordshire Chief Barons of the Irish Exchequer Kingdom of England people in the Kingdom of Ireland