Robert Weston

This article is about the lawyer Robert Weston. On the writer, see Robert Paul Weston .

Robert Weston (* before 1522 ; † May 20, 1573 ) was an English jurist, Dean of Arches and Lord Chancellor of Ireland in the reign of Elizabeth I of England.

Life

Robert Weston was the third son of John Weston (* around 1470; after 1525) from Weeford in Staffordshire and his wife Cecilia (died after 1525), the sister of Ralph Neville, the Fourth Earl of Westmorland (1498-1549). Robert's brother James Weston (around 1525–1589) was elected to the House of Commons . In 1551/52 Robert married Alice (died in or after 1573), daughter of Richard Jenyngs of Great Barr in Staffordshire. Together they had a son (John Weston, 1551 / 2-1632) and three daughters, including Alice (died after 1585), who married her second husband, Geoffrey Fenton (around 1539-1608) in 1585 .

Robert studied Civil Law at All Souls College of the University of Oxford and was from 1536 Fellow . On February 17, 1538 he achieved his Bachelor of Law (BCL) and on July 20, 1556 the Doctor of Civil Law (DCL). From 1546 to 1549 he directed Broadgates Hall , which was renamed Pembroke College in the 17th century . At the same time he was Reader of Civil Law (~ Civil Law ) under the former Regius Professor of Civil Law, John Story . From March 26, 1550 to September 29, 1553 Weston was the sole Regius Professor, while Story lived in exile in Flanders during this time.

From 1551 to 1553 Weston served as Vicar General to the Bishop of Exeter, Miles Coverdale . In March 1553 Weston was elected to the House of Commons for the constituency of Exeter , and for Lichfield in 1558 and 1559 .

On January 12, 1559, Weston was appointed Dean of Arches and was responsible for taking the oath on the state religion that was changed as a result of the 1559 Act of Uniformity . He was of the Royal Commission on the appointment of Matthew Parker to Archbishop of Canterbury and as of November 8, 1564 a member of the Commission for the Investigation of piracy attacks on Spanish sailors.

At the request of the Lord Deputy of Ireland , Henry Sidney , Weston was appointed to the post of Lord Chancellor of Ireland in April 1566 to succeed Hug Curwen , Archbishop of Dublin. One year later, on June 10, 1567, Elizabeth I told Sidney that after careful consideration she had come to the decision that her election for the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland had fallen to “our trustworthy and much-loved Doctor Weston, here Dean of Arches and a man who, through his erudition and proven integrity, is highly qualified for the exercise of the office. ” In addition, she saw it as necessary to give him the deanery of St. Patrick's, which had hitherto been the case, in order to maintain his livelihood in Ireland was subordinate to the Bishop of Armagh , but it remained under royal reservation. Although Weston did not welcome this arrangement, he did become the head of the Church of Ireland as a layman .

Weston arrived in Dublin early in August and took his oath of office on August 8, 1567. On October 14th he was sworn in together with William FitzWilliam the Vice Treasurer at Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin as Lord Justice of Ireland. Weston also spoke before the Irish Parliament when it met on January 17, 1568.

From 1570 to 1573 he was Dean of Wells. Robert Weston died in 1573. He was buried in the tomb of the Boyle family in St. Patrick's Cathedral in Dublin.

Weston was described as follows

A God-fearing, upright, and virtuous man, and of a kind that are few in many years. In matters of conduct he was most virtuous and God-fearing; most sensible and perfect in matters of administration; Most honest and incorruptible in justice, benevolent and generous in hospitality; extremely polite and noble in his conduct of conversation; devoted to his monarch, loyal to his friends and courteous to all people; And as in life, so did he organize his affairs also in death. Because shortly before he passed away, he called his household together and gave orders in case of his death; then he put his personal affairs in order and spent the rest of his time in prayer and meditation.

family

Weston married Alice Jenyngs, daughter of Richard Jenyngs from Barr near Liechfield. They had a son and three daughters together, one of whom, Alice, first married Hugh Brady , the Bishop of Meath, and later Geoffrey Fenton . From this marriage comes Catherine, who later married Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork . Second, Weston married Alice Bigges, daughter of John Bigges from Isleworth and widow of G. Aunsham from Heston . This marriage remained childless.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Robert Weston in the Find a Grave database . Accessed July 8, 2018.
2. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} Andrew Lyall; Weston, Robert (b. In or before 1522, d. 1573), lord chancellor of Ireland ; Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2004.
3. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k} The Boyle Family Monument ( Memento of the original dated February 12, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website of Saint Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin (www.stpatrickscathedral.ie); accessed on February 12, 2015. 
4. ↑ ^{a b} Chapters of Dublin Chapter XXVIII. Life of Lord Chancellor Weston
5. ^ Browne Willis Notitia parliamentaria, or, An history of the counties, cities, and boroughs in England and Wales: ... The whole extracted from mss. and printed evidences 1750 p66
6. ↑ Calendar State Papers Cathedral 1547-80, p246
7. ↑ Holinshed's Chronicle, vol. vi. p. 373.

Offices

predecessor	Office	successor
Thomas Yale	Dean of Arches 1559-1567	William Mowse

predecessor	Office	successor
Archbishop Hugh Curwen	Lord Chancellor of Ireland 1567–1573	Adam Loftus (Lord Keeper)