John Bathe (died c.1559) was an Irish
barrister and
judge. He was a member of a famous legal
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family,''Oxford English Dictionary'', "dynasty, ''n''." Oxford University Press (Oxford), 1897. usually in the context of a monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A ...
, and had a distinguished career under the
Tudors
The House of Tudor was a royal house of largely Welsh and English origin that held the English throne from 1485 to 1603. They descended from the Tudors of Penmynydd and Catherine of France. Tudor monarchs ruled the Kingdom of England and its ...
, holding office 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 ...
and
Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.
He was a native of
County Meath
County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...
, son of William Bathe, a member of the long-established
Anglo-Irish Bathe family whose main seat was at
Athcarne Castle. The family produced several distinguished judges and lawyers; his cousin
James Bathe served as
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 build ...
for thirty years, under four monarchs.
[Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926] A John Bathe junior, probably a relative, was admitted to Lincoln's Inn in 1456-7, and may later have become a local judge in Ireland.
[ The family had claimed the title Baron Louth in the fifteenth century, but their claim was disallowed by the English Crown, which bestowed it on the Plunkett family, who still hold it. His mother was Alison (or Alsona) Ussher, only daughter and heiress of Thomas Ussher and Elizabeth Cheevers, and granddaughter of Arland Ussher, who was ]Mayor of Dublin
The Lord Mayor of Dublin ( ga, Ardmhéara Bhaile Átha Cliath) is the honorary title of the chairperson ( ga, Cathaoirleach, links=no ) of Dublin City Council which is the local government body for the city of Dublin, the capital of Ireland. The ...
in 1469-70. After his father's death, she remarried John Bellew of Bellewstown
Bellewstown () is a village located 8 km south of Drogheda, on the Hill of Crockafotha in County Meath in Republic of Ireland, Ireland.
It takes its name from the Anglo-Irish Bellew family, who were the dominant local landowners from th ...
. James Ussher
James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his ident ...
, Archbishop of Armagh, was a cousin of a later generation.
He was at Lincoln's Inn in 1536, and was called to the Bar in 1539. He entered the King's Inns and was one of the original lessees of the Inns under the lease
A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...
of 1541.[Kenny, Colum ''The King's Inns and the Kingdom of Ireland'' Dublin Irish Academic Press 1992 p.31] A chamber in the Inns was still known as "Justice Bathe's former chamber" in the early 1600s. He was in the service of the English Crown in Ireland by 1546, when he replaced Walter Cowley
Walter Cowley (c.1500 – 1548) was an Irish lawyer and politician who was the first holder of the office of Principal Solicitor for Ireland, which was created for him. He was a client of Thomas Cromwell, and later of John Alan, the Lord Chanc ...
as Principal Solicitor for Ireland. In 1550, he became King's Serjeant
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 wr ...
and Solicitor General. In 1554 he became Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, and held office until 1559;[D'Alton, John ''King James' Irish Army List'' Dublin 1855] it is unclear whether Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
chose to replace the Chief Justice of her half-sister, predecessor, and rival Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
, or whether he died that year. We do know that he was highly thought of by the English Crown, being praised for "knowledge of the laws of England, diligence, discretion and loyalty".[
He married Margaret Darcy, daughter of Thomas Darcy, and had at least five sons: his eldest son was Sir William Bathe of Athcarne Castle (died 1597), who was also a judge of the Court of Common Pleas.][ On William's death Athcarne passed to his younger brother James, whose grandson, also called James, was a leading member of ]Confederate Ireland
Confederate Ireland, also referred to as the Irish Catholic Confederation, was a period of Irish Catholic self-government between 1642 and 1649, during the Eleven Years' War. Formed by Catholic aristocrats, landed gentry, clergy and military ...
. After 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 ...
Athcarne was forfeited, but in 1665 the younger James's son Sir Luke Bathe recovered it, as a reward for what were described as his family's "sufferings in the cause of the English Crown", although they now held it, at a nominal rent, as tenants of the Crown. The Bathes remained at Athcarne until about 1700. The Chief Justice's three other sons were Luke, George and Robert.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathe, John
16th-century Irish politicians
Politicians from County Meath
Chief Justices of the Irish Common Pleas
Principal Solicitors for Ireland
Serjeants-at-law (Ireland)