Henry Hene or Henn (died 1708) was an English-born judge who had a distinguished career in

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 ...

, and held the office of

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 ...

Background and early career

He was the eldest son of Hugh Henn, who was a page of the bedchamber to

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

and

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

and was appointed joint Keeper, with his brother, of the Queen's Garden, Greenwich in 1639. Henry's mother was Katherine Bickerstaff, daughter of Anthony Bickerstaff of

Croydon Croydon is a large town in south London, England, south of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Croydon, a local government district of Greater London. It is one of the largest commercial districts in Greater London, with an extensi ...

. Sir Henry Henn or Hene, first of the Hene baronets (c.1577-c.1668), was his uncle. Henry 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 1645 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 1653. Although he became a Bencher of the Inner Temple, his practice at the English Bar was not particularly successful and he moved in 1669 to

, where he had relatives. He 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 ...

and his Irish practice prospered: he was appointed Second Serjeant in 1670 and a Commissioner of Appeals in Revenue in 1671.

Judicial career

He became third Baron of the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland) or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of justic ...

in 1673 and went regularly as judge of assize to Connaught; this became the subject of a well-known satire, ''Elegy on the Pig that followed Chief Baron Henn and Baron Worth from Connaught to Dublin''. When

John Bysse John Bysse (c.1602–1680) was a member of the Parliament of Ireland during the 1630s and 1640s. He was excluded from office during the Interregnum, but became one of the most senior Irish judges after the Restoration of Charles II. Biography ...

died in 1680 the Lord Lieutenant suggested that

Sir Richard Reynell, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Reynell, 1st Baronet (1626 – 18 October 1699), was an English-born judge who had a distinguished career in Ireland and held office as Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench in Ireland. He was the first of the Reynell baronets of La ...

should be the new Chief Baron. However, the anti-Catholic hysteria engendered by

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

was at its height and Reynell was suspected of

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

leanings. Charles II preferred Henn, as he was a staunch

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 ...

and a man with strong connections at Court. After King Charles's death, Henn's Protestantism made him unacceptable to the new Catholic King

James II James II may refer to: * James II of Avesnes (died c. 1205), knight of the Fourth Crusade * James II of Majorca (died 1311), Lord of Montpellier * James II of Aragon (1267–1327), King of Sicily * James II, Count of La Marche (1370–1438), King C ...

, and he was removed from office in 1687, retiring to his parents' house Rooksnest, in

Tandridge Tandridge is a village and civil parish in the Tandridge District, in the county of Surrey, England. Its nucleus is on a rise of the Greensand Ridge between Oxted and Godstone. It includes, towards its middle one named sub-locality (hamlet), ...

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

. After the Revolution of 1688, unlike some of Charles II's Irish judges, he showed no interest in returning to the Bench. He lived in retirement at Tandridge till his death in 1708.

Family

Henn was married, but whether or not he had any children is a matter of dispute. Elrington Ball, normally an authoritative source, states that his marriage was childless, and that his English property passed to his sister's son Edward Nelthorpe. On the other hand, some sources state that Richard Henn of Paradise Hill, founder of the prominent Henn family of

Ballynacally Ballynacally () is a village and townland situated southwest of Ennis, on the R473 coast road to Kilrush in the civil parish of Kilchreest, County Clare, Ireland. It lies near the bank of the River Shannon. History Ballynacally derives fr ...

, was the Chief Baron's son, and Ball accepts that he was a close relative. It is also possible that Richard was a nephew or first cousin of Henry, as the Henns were a numerous clan, with a rather tangled family tree. Richard's descendants included several distinguished judges and barristers, including

William Henn William Henn ( – 1796) was an Irish judge, who is remembered now mainly for the somewhat malicious description of him in Sir Jonah Barrington's ''Personal Sketches''. Life He was born at Ballynacally, County Clare, second son of Thomas H ...

, justice of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland), and William's grandson

Sir Charles Villiers Stanford Sir Charles Villiers Stanford (30 September 1852 – 29 March 1924) was an Anglo-Irish composer, music teacher, and conductor of the late Romantic music, Romantic era. Born to a well-off and highly musical family in Dublin, Stanford was ed ...

, the conductor and composer.

Character

Elrington BallBall pp.287-288 describes him as a man of integrity, learning, good judgment and blameless private life; but notes that he was not a good

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

, hence his long struggle to build up a large practice at the Bar.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hene, Henry People from Surrey 1708 deaths Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Inner Temple Year of birth unknown Chief Barons of the Irish Exchequer Serjeants-at-law (Ireland)