Henry Bathurst (1623-1676) was an English-born
judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
in seventeenth-century Ireland, and a member of a prominent
Royalist
A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...
family. He was Attorney General for the province of
Munster
Munster ( gle, an Mhumhain or ) is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the south of Ireland. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" ( ga, rí ruirech). Following the ...
and
Recorder of Cork
The Recorder of Cork was a judicial office holder in pre-Independence Ireland. The Recorder was the chief magistrate of Cork city: his principal duty was to keep the peace. The office was very similar to that of the Recorder of Dublin, except that ...
and
Kinsale
Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a population of 5,281 (a ...
.
[Collins Vol.3 p.318] As a judge he had a reputation, whether deserved or otherwise, for exceptional severity towards Quakers.
[Fuller and Holms p.125]
Family
He was born at
Theddingworth,
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
, one of the thirteen sons of George Bathurst and his wife Elizabeth Villiers, daughter and heiress of Edward Villiers of
Hothorpe Hall
Hothorpe Hall, in Northamptonshire, is a Georgian manor house near Market Harborough. It lies in the parish of Marston Trussell in Northamptonshire but is close to Theddingworth in Leicestershire. The hall is currently used as a conference centr ...
,
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
. The Bathurst boys were described by an acquaintance: "all the sons ingenious and prosperous, and most of them very handsome".
[ Of his twelve brothers, six were killed in 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 ...
, fighting on the Royalist side. His surviving brothers included the statesman Sir Benjamin Bathurst (died 1704) and Dr Ralph Bathurst
Ralph Bathurst, FRS (1620 – 14 June 1704) was an English theologian and physician.
Early life
He was born in Hothorpe, Northamptonshire in 1620 and educated at King Henry VIII School, Coventry.
He graduated with a B.A. degree from Trinity C ...
, Dean of Wells
The Dean of Wells is the head of the Chapter of Wells Cathedral in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The dean's residence is The Dean's Lodging, 25 The Liberty, Wells.
List of deans
High Medieval
*1140–1164: Ivo
*1164–1189: Rich ...
(1620-1704).[
]
A Judge in Ireland
He was educated at Trinity College, Oxford
(That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody)
, named_for = The Holy Trinity
, established =
, sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge
, president = Dame Hilary Boulding
, location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH
, coordinates ...
, studied law at Clifford's Inn
Clifford's Inn is a former Inn of Chancery in London. It was located between Fetter Lane, Clifford's Inn Passage, leading off Fleet Street and Chancery Lane in the City of London. The Inn was founded in 1344 and refounded 15 June 1668. It was d ...
and entered the Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...
in 1646. He 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 1653. At an uncertain date, he was sent to Ireland as Attorney General to the Lord President of Munster
The post of Lord President of Munster was the most important office in the English government of the Irish province of Munster from its introduction in the Elizabethan era for a century, to 1672, a period including the Desmond Rebellions in Munste ...
, though in the disturbed political conditions of the time it is unclear to what extent he was able to carry out his duties. He appears to have become Recorder of Cork and Recorder of Kinsale
The Recorder of Kinsale was a judicial office-holder in pre-independence Ireland. He was the chief magistrate of the town of Kinsale. Given the population of the town, which was rarely more than 7000, the need for a full-time judge may be question ...
by 1655. He became a member of the Irish Bar
The Bar of Ireland ( ga, Barra na hÉireann) is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Ba ...
, and was admitted to the King's Inns
The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...
, 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 ...
, in January 1658. In 1671, when the English Crown
This list of kings and reigning queens of the Kingdom of England begins with Alfred the Great, who initially ruled Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which later made up modern England. Alfred styled himself King of the Anglo-Sax ...
issued a proclamation
A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...
for the Royal Charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, bu ...
for Cork
Cork or CORK may refer to:
Materials
* Cork (material), an impermeable buoyant plant product
** Cork (plug), a cylindrical or conical object used to seal a container
***Wine cork
Places Ireland
* Cork (city)
** Metropolitan Cork, also known as G ...
(and several other Irish corporations
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and r ...
) to be renewed, Henry was chosen by the Cork city fathers to negotiate its renewal.[Tuckey p.106]
Personal life
His wife was named Jane, but her family name is unknown: they had no children. His will
Will may refer to:
Common meanings
* Will and testament, instructions for the disposition of one's property after death
* Will (philosophy), or willpower
* Will (sociology)
* Will, volition (psychology)
* Will, a modal verb - see Shall and will
...
was admitted to probate
Probate is the judicial process whereby a will is "proved" in a court of law and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased, or whereby the estate is settled according to the laws of intestacy in the sta ...
in May 1676. Henry and Jane lived at Castlepark
The Castlepark peninsula in Kinsale harbour on the coast of County Cork, on the south coast of Ireland is really more a presque-isle than a peninsula, being joined to the mainland only by an extremely narrow neck at its north-western corner. Th ...
, near Kinsale Harbour. Their relations with another prominent Castlepark family, the Brocketts (descendants of Colonel William Brockett, who was appointed military Governor
A military government is generally any form of government that is administered by military forces, whether or not this government is legal under the laws of the jurisdiction at issue, and whether this government is formed by natives or by an occup ...
of Kinsale in 1642), were extremely bad, resulting in a serious of acrimonious lawsuits
-
A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil actio ...
and countersuits, involving claims of larceny
Larceny is a crime involving the unlawful taking or theft of the personal property of another person or business. It was an offence under the common law of England and became an offence in jurisdictions which incorporated the common law of Engla ...
among other torts
A tort is a civil wrong that causes a claimant to suffer loss or harm, resulting in legal liability for the person who commits the tortious act. Tort law can be contrasted with criminal law, which deals with criminal wrongs that are punishable ...
. The litigation began in the late 1660s and dragged on until Henry's death. The principal dispute seems to have been about the right to ownership of certain property in Kinsale, and does not necessarily indicate serious wrongdoing on either side.
Attitude to Quakers
A book entitled ''A Compendious View of some Extraordinary Sufferings of the People called Quakers... in the Kingdom of Ireland'', by Abraham Fuller and Thomas Holms (first published in 1671), accused Henry, in his capacity as Chief Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
of Kinsale, of exceptional severity towards the Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
community of County Cork.[ The evidence for his persecution of Quakers, however, seems to rest on a single case, that of Lucretia Cooke, wife of a prominent Irish Quaker, Edward Cooke of Bandon. Mrs Cooke was imprisoned at Kinsale on Henry's orders for calling on the local ]Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
and congregation to repent of their sins. Arguably this isolated case does not justify Fuller and Holms' description of Henry as a "persecutor" of Quakers, since there seems to be no evidence of a widespread campaign against them in the town of Kinsale.[
]
Sources
*Collins, Arthur ''Peerage of England'' 5th Edition London 1756
*Fuller, Abraham and Holms, Thomas ''A Compendious View of Some Extraordinary Sufferings of the People called Quakers, both in person and in substance, in the Kingdom of Ireland'' (1671) Republished Dublin 1731
*''King's Inns Admission Papers'' 1607-1867 Irish Manuscripts Commission
The Irish Manuscripts Commission was established in 1928 by the newly founded Irish Free State with the intention of furthering the study of Ireland's manuscript collections and archives. Its foundation was primarily motivated by the loss of many h ...
Dublin 1982
*Tuckey, Francis H. ''The county and city of Cork Remembrancer; or Annals of the county and city of Cork'' Osborne Savage and Son Cork 1837
Notes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathurst, Henry
People from Leicestershire
People from Kinsale
Recorders of Cork
Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford
Members of the Inner Temple
1623 births
1676 deaths