Robert de Hemmingburgh (died 1349) was an English-born judge and

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, who held office as

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 ...

, and possibly as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. He took his name from his birthplace,

Hemingbrough Hemingbrough is a small village and civil parish in the Selby District of North Yorkshire, England that is located approximately from Selby and from Howden on the A63. The village has a 12th-century former collegiate church (Hemingbrough Mins ...

, in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

. William de Hemmingborough, who died in Hemingborough in 1410, may have been a relative of Robert, or may simply, like Robert, have taken his name from his homeplace. Nor is it clear if he was related to the later Robert de Hemynborough, who was appointed

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 ...

in 1385. Robert became a clerk of the English Chancery about 1319. He is said to have been a valued royal servant, who was highly regarded by both

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also called Edward of Caernarfon, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir apparent to t ...

and

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

. He was a noted

religious pluralist Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following: * Recognizing and tolerating the religious diversity of a society or countr ...

, acquiring numerous livings in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and Ireland, though we know the names of only two of these livings,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

and

Antingham Antingham is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Norfolk. The village is located about south of Cromer and north of North Walsham. The civil parish has an area of 6.12 square kilometres and in the 2001 census had ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

. In 1337 he was sent to

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 ...

in the entourage of the new

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 ...

, Thomas Charlton,

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the Hereford, City of Hereford where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is in the Hereford Cathedr ...

. He was appointed Master of the Rolls - only the third holder of the office - and served as Master until 1346. According to some sources he was briefly Lord Chancellor of Ireland himself. He died in 1349.

References

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 *Burton, Thomas ''The History and Antiquities of the Parish of Hemingborough in the County of York''. Published at York by Sampson Brothers; first edition 1888 *Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' Butterworths London 1839 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hemmingburgh, Robert de 1349 deaths People from Selby District Year of birth unknown Masters of the Rolls in Ireland