Richard Clayton (1702–1770) was an English-born politician and judge in eighteenth-century Ireland who held the office of

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the s ...

. His reputation was seriously damaged by the trial and execution of Father Nicholas Sheehy, which is acknowledged to have been a notable miscarriage of justice.

Biography

He was the second son of Richard Clayton, Lord of the Manor of Adlington, Lancashire and Martha Horton, daughter of Joseph Horton of

Chadderton Chadderton is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, Greater Manchester, England, on the River Irk and Rochdale Canal. It is located in the foothills of the Pennines, west of Oldham, south of Rochdale and north-east of Manchester. Hi ...

, ancestor of the Horton Baronets. He 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 1724 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 1729,

King's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

1768. He inherited

Adlington Hall Adlington Hall is a country house near Adlington, Cheshire. The oldest part of the existing building, the Great Hall, was constructed between 1480 and 1505; the east wing was added in 1581. The Legh family has lived in the hall and in previ ...

and its adjoining estate in Lancashire. He sat in the House of Commons as member for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

and was

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 that town. His most memorable case as a barrister was as defence counsel for

Francis Towneley Francis Towneley (9 June 1709 – 30 July 1746) was an English Catholic and supporter of the exiled House of Stuart or Jacobitism, Jacobite. After service with the Kingdom of France, French army from 1728 to 1734, he returned to England and ...

for his part in the

Rebellion of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the British throne for his father, James Francis Edward Stuart. It took pl ...

: Towneley was found guilty of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

and executed, but given the strength of the evidence against him (he was taken in arms), this need not reflect any lack of ability on his counsel's part. Clayton was sent to Ireland as Chief Justice of the Common Pleas in 1765 and held office until 1770, when ill-health forced him to step down. He retired to Adlington and died there later the same year. He is buried in Standish Church. He was unmarried, and his heir was his nephew

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

, who was created a baronet.

Father Sheehy

Clayton is mainly remembered for presiding over the trial of Nicholas Sheehy, parish priest of

Clogheen, County Tipperary Clogheen () is a village in County Tipperary, Ireland. The census of 2016 recorded the population at 478 people. Location It lies in the Galtee-Vee Valley with the Galtee Mountains to the north and the Knockmealdowns in close proximity to th ...

on a charge of being accessory to the

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

of John Bridge, at the

Clonmel Clonmel () is the county town and largest settlement of County Tipperary, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The town is noted in Irish history for its resistance to the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, Cromwellian army which sacked the towns of Dro ...

Assizes in March 1766. The trial "became proverbial in Ireland for injustice".Ball p. 149 Sheehy, a noted opponent of the Penal Laws, had already been unsuccessfully prosecuted for

conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...

and high treason. There is little doubt that the prosecution witnesses, many of whom had testified against him before, were lying. Sheehy had a good alibi for the time of the alleged murder: indeed it is very doubtful that there was a murder at all, since there was no corpse, and the Crown produced no evidence that Bridge was dead. On hearing the death sentence pronounced, Sheehy's counsel told the judge and jury that "if there was any justice they would all die roaring." It has however been argued that Clayton in his summing-up actually leaned towards an acquittal.Mackey p.84 Sheehy was hanged on 15 March. Clayton also presided at the related trial of Sheehy's cousin Edmund. Edmund was executed and again the conduct of the trial was widely criticised, although Edmund himself said that Clayton had acted justly .

Reputation

Irish historians have criticised Clayton severely for his handling of the Sheehy case, although it is not suggested that he had any corrupt motive: Elrington Ball blames his actions on naivety and unfamiliarity with Irish politics. There is evidence that in other cases he acted justly and humanely: a later

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 ...

, the Earl of Clare, remembered him as a good man and an honest judge.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayton, Richard People from Adlington, Lancashire 1702 births 1770 deaths Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Chief Justices of the Irish Common Pleas