Robert le Poer
Robert le Poer (died c. 1346) was an Irish judge and Crown official who held the offices of Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer.
Family
There seems no reason to doubt this account of Robert's parentage,
Early career
Robert, as a young man, was in the service of John Hastings, 1st Baron Hastings and went with him to Gascony in 1307.[6] The connection with the Hastings family continued, and by 1322 he was their bailiff in Ireland. He became parish priest of Lutterworth, Leicestershire in 1318, and of Adderley, Shropshire the following year. In the 1320s he also had a living in County Carlow.[6]
His first Crown office was as Chamberlain of North Wales in 1323; in 1327 he became Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, with a salary of £40 a year.[7]
Judge
In 1331 he was appointed Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and at the same time held the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland.[8] In 1335 he was superseded as Chief Baron, but remained an ordinary Baron of the Exchequer. In 1338 he served briefly as a judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland); the following year he was reappointed Chief Baron and remained in that office until 1344.[8] In 1342 and 1344 he received extra payments from the Crown for his good services, and in particular for his several journeys to County Meath as Chancellor.[9] He was still alive in January 1346 when he petitioned the Privy Council for the arrears of his salary to be paid.[10]
References
- ^ F.E. Ball The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol. I pp.71-72
- ^ Redmond, Gabriel Historical memoir of the Family of Poher, Poer or Power Dublin 1891 p.11
- ^ Otway-Ruthven, A.J. History of Medieval Ireland Reprinted Barnes and Noble 1993 p.245
- ^ O'Hart, John Irish Pedigrees 5th Edition Dublin 1892
- ^ Neary, Anne The Origins and Character of the Kilkenny Witchcraft Trial 1324 (1983) Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy Vol.83C p.333-350
- ^ a b Ball Judges in Ireland p.71
- The National ArchivesOfficers in Ireland anno primo R. Edward III and their yearly fees
- ^ a b Ball p.72
- ^ Smyth, Constantine Joseph Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland London Butterworths 1839 p.145
- ^ Close Roll 9 Edward III