Henry Singleton (1682–1759) was an Irish politician and
judge, who is remembered now mainly for his friendship with
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...
, and for his notable acts of charity during the
Great Irish Famine of 1740-1, in which between 300,000 and 500,000 people (possibly 20% of the overall population) died. Singleton House, his impressive townhouse in Drogheda, no longer exists.
Career
Politician
He was born in
Drogheda, one of eleven children of Edward Singleton, Member of Parliament for Drogheda town and his wife Catherine Newton. He went to school in
Drogheda Grammar School
Drogheda Grammar School is an Irish co-educational multi-denominational school, located on Mornington Road, Drogheda, County Louth.
History
Drogheda Grammar School was founded under Royal Charter in 1669 by Erasmus Smith and is one of the ol ...
, graduated from the
University of Dublin, 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 ...
and was
called to the Bar in 1707. Like his father, he sat in the
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fran ...
as MP for
Drogheda and was a close associate of the foremost Parliamentary "manager",
William Conolly
William Conolly (9 April 1662 – 30 October 1729), also known as Speaker Conolly, was an Irish politician, Commissioner of Revenue, lawyer and landowner.
Career
William Conolly was born the son of an inn-keeper, Patrick Conolly, in Ballysh ...
. He narrowly missed becoming
Speaker
Speaker may refer to:
Society and politics
* Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly
* Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture
* A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially:
** I ...
of the House in 1733, apparently, because he was considered to be a
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
in the era of the "
Whig triumph". This disappointment is said to have caused him to lose interest in politics. He was also
Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
of Drogheda from 1708, and became
Prime Serjeant-at-law in 1726. He evidently found the office of Serjeant an onerous one, judging by his later pleas to be appointed to "a place of greater ease". It is interesting that he assumed that the workload of a High Court judge would be lighter than that of the Serjeant. In 1733, Singleton found some support in his campaign as successor of
Sir Ralph Gore as Speaker but withdrew when the
Duke of Dorset
Duke of Dorset was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1720 for the politician Lionel Sackville, 7th Earl of Dorset.
History
The Sackville family descended from Sir Richard Sackville. His only surviving son, Thomas S ...
,
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, supported
Henry Boyle in 1733.
Judge
In 1739, when the office of
Lord Chancellor of Ireland fell vacant, Singleton lobbied hard for it, arguing that his "fifteen years of faithful service to the Crown" surely entitled him to "a place of more ease, though less profit, than his present situation". There was, however, a traditional reluctance on the part of the English Crown to appoint any Irish-born judge as Lord Chancellor, and he was passed over in favour of
Robert Jocelyn, 1st Viscount Jocelyn
Robert Jocelyn, 1st Viscount Jocelyn PC (I) SL (c. 1688 ? – 3 December 1756) was an Anglo-Irish politician and judge and member of the Peerage of Ireland, best known for serving as Lord Chancellor of Ireland.
Biography
Early life
Jocelyn ...
. Singleton was finally raised to the Bench as
Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas in 1740, and was praised for bringing "learning and judgment" to that office.
Within a few years his health began to fail, although he made frequent visits to
Bath and
Spa in the hope of a cure. Despite pressure from
William Yorke, his colleague in the Common Pleas and nephew by marriage, who was anxious to succeed him, he was reluctant to step down. Eventually, in 1753 he resigned as Chief Justice; the following year he became
Master of the Rolls in Ireland
The Master of the Rolls in Ireland was a senior judicial office in the Irish Chancery under English and British rule, and was equivalent to the Master of the Rolls in the English Chancery. Originally called the Keeper of the Rolls, he was respons ...
(which was then largely a
sinecure rather than the senior judicial office which it became later, although he was said to fill it with "great dignity"). Surprisingly, he was asked to resume his political career in order to support the Government, but it was quickly recognised that he was "too worn out" to play any active role. He appears to have had a
stroke shortly afterwards, which severely impaired his speech, and in 1754 he was said to be on the point of death, although he made a partial recovery.
Death and burial
He held the Mastership until his death, despite ever-increasing health problems which left him in "a melancholy condition". He died unmarried in 1759 and was buried in
St. Peter's Church of Ireland, Drogheda, where his nephew Sydenham Singleton erected an impressive monument in his memory, sculpted by
John Hickey. His law library is now held by
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.
[''"Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography"'']
Heirs
His
will contains a long list of
bequests
A bequest is property given by will. Historically, the term ''bequest'' was used for personal property given by will and ''deviser'' for real property. Today, the two words are used interchangeably.
The word ''bequeath'' is a verb form for the ...
to his surviving sisters, and to his numerous nephews and nieces. The principal beneficiary was his niece Mary, daughter of his brother the Rev. Rowland Singleton, vicar of
Termonfeckin
Termonfeckin or Termonfechin () is a small village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. It is within the parish of the same name, and lies north-east of Drogheda. The population of the village tripled in the 20 years between the 1996 and 201 ...
, and his wife Elizabeth Graham, and sister of Charity Singleton Cope (1707-1779), who married Sir William Yorke as her second husband. Mary married
Philip Tisdall
Philip Tisdall SL (1 March 1703 – 11 September 1777) was an Irish lawyer and politician, who held the office of Attorney-General for Ireland. He was for many years a leading figure in the Irish Government.
Background
He was born in County Lo ...
,
Attorney General for Ireland
The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. With the ...
from 1760 to 1777, who was a dominant figure in the Irish Government for many years. Tisdall hoped to succeed Singleton as Master of the Rolls, but was passed over. Mary ("la belle Marie") was a noted beauty: she and Philip were both painted by the celebrated
Swiss painter
Angelica Kauffman.
Residence
In 1731 he built an impressive residence named Singleton House at Laurence Street, Drogheda. It has been described as a three-storey mansion of red brick, with seven bay windows and magnificent oak-panelled interiors. It became derelict in the 20th century, and was demolished (illegally) in 1989.
In Dublin, he lived at Belvedere House,
Drumcondra, which he rented from his friend and political connections colleague
Marmaduke Coghill
Marmaduke Coghill (1673–1738) was a member of Parliament for Dublin University, judge of the Prerogative Court and Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland.
Biography
Coghill was born in Dublin, Ireland, the son of John Coghill of Knaresborough, Y ...
, and which he extensively improved. He also owned property in
County Cavan
Character
Despite a rather haughty manner, which led to his nickname "the Prime Serjeant Grand", and is borne out by the portrait of him by
Michael Ford in his judicial robes, Singleton was loved and respected by those who knew him well. He enjoyed the friendship of
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dubl ...
who called him "the first of the worthiest" and appointed him his
executor. William Yorke, his successor as Chief Justice, and husband of his niece Charity, even while nudging him towards retirement, had nothing but praise for Singleton both as a man and a judge. Another influential friend was the politician and judge
Robert Lindsay, who married Henry's sister Elizabeth, and was also a friend of Swift.
George Stone, the powerful
Archbishop of Armagh, also had high regard for him. The best tribute to his character is his noble behaviour during the
Great Famine of 1740-41 when he donated much of his personal fortune to the relief of the poor of Drogheda, one of the towns worst affected by the famine, and adjourned the Court of Common Pleas, so that he could return home and supervise the relief works.
[Ball p.131]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singleton, Henry
1682 births
1759 deaths
17th-century Irish people
Irish barristers
Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Louth constituencies
People from Drogheda
Members of the Privy Council of Ireland
Alumni of Trinity College Dublin
Chief Justices of the Irish Common Pleas
Masters of the Rolls in Ireland
18th-century Irish lawyers
Serjeants-at-law (Ireland)
18th-century Irish judges