Sir Robert I Hill (died before 1426), sometimes written Hull, was an English politician and judge from the West Country.

Origins

Born before 1350, the son of Robert Hill, a lawyer, he made his home at Shilstone in the parish of

Modbury Modbury is a large village, ecclesiastical parish, civil parish and former manor situated in the South Hams district of the county of Devon in England. Today due to its large size it is generally referred to as a "town" although the parish co ...

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...

. He is often confused with another Robert Hill (died 1423), who lived at

Spaxton Spaxton is a small village and civil parish on the Quantock Hills, Quantocks in the Sedgemoor district of Somerset, South West England. History Spaxton was part of the Hundred (county subdivision), hundred of Cannington (hundred), Cannington. T ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

and was the son of Sir John Hill (died1408), a

Justice of the King's Bench Justice of the King's Bench, or Justice of the Queen's Bench during the reign of a female monarch, was a puisne judicial position within the Court of King's Bench, under the Chief Justice. The King's Bench was a court of common law which modern a ...

Career

He initially entered politics, sitting as MP in the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for various Devon constituencies. In 1372 he represented both Dartmouth and

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028 ...

; then

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to Plym ...

in 1373, in both Parliaments of 1377, and in 1380; and finally in 1379

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

. Thereafter he followed his father in a legal career, becoming one of the counsel retained by Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, in 1384, a member of 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 ...

, and in 1388 a

serjeant-at-law 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 writ ...

. By 1399 he was a

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 writ ...

, and was called on for a so-called loan of 100 pounds to aid in the King's wars against the Welsh and the Scots. In 1408 he was created a

Justice of the Common Pleas Justice of the Common Pleas was a puisne judicial position within the Court of Common Pleas of England and Wales, under the Chief Justice. The Common Pleas was the primary court of common law within England and Wales, dealing with "common" pleas ...

, remaining in post for the rest of his life. Though he acted as chief justice following the death of Edward Norton, he was never formally appointed. In 1415 he was one of the judges in the

Southampton Plot The Southampton Plot was a conspiracy to depose King Henry V of England, revealed in 1415 just as the king was about to sail on campaign to France as part of the Hundred Years' War. The plan was to replace him with Edmund Mortimer, 5th Earl of M ...

treason trial, in which

Richard of Conisburgh, 3rd Earl of Cambridge Richard of Conisbrough, 3rd Earl of Cambridge (20 July 1385 – 5 August 1415) was the second son of Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, and Isabella of Castile, Duchess of York. He was beheaded for his part in the Southampton Plot, a conspiracy ...

Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham Henry Scrope, 3rd Baron Scrope of Masham KG, also known in older sources as Lord Scrope (c. 1373 – 5 August 1415) was a favourite of Henry V, who performed many diplomatic missions. He was beheaded for his involvement in the notional Southam ...

, and Sir Thomas Grey were condemned and beheaded. In 1417 he was appointed to hold sessions in Wales and in 1422 was chief justice of the

Isle of Ely The Isle of Ely () is a historic region around the city of Ely in Cambridgeshire, England. Between 1889 and 1965, it formed an administrative county. Etymology Its name has been said to mean "island of eels", a reference to the creatures that ...

. His salary was last paid at Easter 1423 and he died shortly after, maybe in 1425.

Family

He married Isabella Wadham, sometimes called Elizabeth, daughter of Sir

John Wadham Sir John Wadham (c.1344–1412) was a Justice of the Common Pleas from 1389 to 1398, during the reign of King Richard II (1377–1399), selected by the King as an assertion of his right to rule by the advice of men appointed of his own choice, ...

, of

Edge Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

, Justice of the Common Pleas from 1388 to 1397, and his wife Elizabeth, daughter and coheir of William Shilston, of Shilstone.Pedigree Hill of Shilston https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=yale.39002002213917&view=1up&seq=500&size=175. Their children included his heir Robert II Hill, born about 1392, who was

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

in 1428. By 1419 Isabel had died and he had become the fourth husband of Joan, daughter and only legitimate heir of Sir Otto II Bodrugan,

High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriffs of all other English counties, ot ...

in 1381, who survived him and died in April 1428. She was the granddaughter of Sir Otto I Bodrugan, the half-sister of William I Bodrugan and the mother of William II Bodrugan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hill, Robert 1340s births 1420s deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Dartmouth English MPs 1372 Members of the Inner Temple Serjeants-at-law (England) Justices of the Common Pleas Knights Bachelor English MPs 1373 English MPs January 1377 English MPs October 1377 English MPs January 1380 English MPs 1379 English MPs November 1380 Members of the Parliament of England for Tavistock Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Exeter