John Penros or Penrose (died 1411) was a Cornish lawyer and

judge A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...

who held high office as

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

, and subsequently served as a High Court judge in England and Wales.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 Vol. 1 p.166 Despite his professional eminence, he was guilty of "an extraordinary career of crime" which stretched over nearly thirty years. When the charges against him were eventually proven, he was removed from the Bench.''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1386-1411'' J.S. Roskell, L. Clark, C. Rawcliffe editors 1993 He belonged to a landowning family based at Escalls near

Land's End Land's End ( kw, Penn an Wlas or ''Pedn an Wlas'') is a headland and tourist and holiday complex in western Cornwall, England, on the Penwith peninsula about west-south-west of Penzance at the western end of the A30 road. To the east of it is ...

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

.Foss, Edward ''The Judges of England'' London Longman Brown Green and Longmans 1851 Vol.4 p.66 He was a qualified

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However ...

, and apparently a good one, as his name appears frequently in the Law Reports in the early 1380s. However he quickly became notorious as a law-breaker. Along with his associates John Trevarthian senior (died 1395), and his son Sir John Trevarthian junior (died 1405) he was for many years one of the principal disturbers of the peace in Cornwall. He had at least one brother Joss, who also seems to have been a malefactor, though in a much smaller way. Escalls Methodist Chapel - geograph

What was later described as his "remarkable career of crime" began about 1370. In 1383 he was indicted in

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant ur ...

for his role in the

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

of Richard Eyre, a fellow Cornishman whose family had a long-standing

feud A feud , referred to in more extreme cases as a blood feud, vendetta, faida, clan war, gang war, or private war, is a long-running argument or fight, often between social groups of people, especially families or clans. Feuds begin because one par ...

with the Trevarthians. The following year an

arrest warrant An arrest warrant is a warrant issued by a judge or magistrate on behalf of the state, which authorizes the arrest and detention of an individual, or the search and seizure of an individual's property. Canada Arrest warrants are issued by a ...

on the charge of murder was issued for his apprehension but was later withdrawn, apparently on the ground that he was not the principal actor in the murder. The list of serious crimes of which the Trevarthians were accused, and to which Penrose, his brother Joss and his cousin Michael Trereise were accessories, grew to a remarkable length: it included their private war with the Eyre family, which had resulted in the murder of Richard Eyre in 1383, as well as

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering and sometimes housebreaking, is the act of entering a building or other areas without permission, with the intention of committing a criminal offence. Usually that offence is theft, robbery or murd ...

and

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 ...

. In time, however, the Trevarthian family became wealthy and respectable: at the time of his death in 1405 Sir John Trevarthian junior was Under

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, othe ...

. Despite his appalling criminal record, Penrose was sent to Ireland as Lord Chief Justice in 1385. He landed at Dalkey, near

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

, in late September,Smyth, Constantine Joseph ''Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland'' London Butterworths 1839 and was still in office in March 1386, when the

Close Rolls The Close Rolls () are an administrative record created in medieval England, Wales, Ireland and the Channel Islands by the royal chancery, in order to preserve a central record of all letters close issued by the chancery in the name of the Cro ...

refer to a payment of £20 to him as his half years

salary A salary is a form of periodic payment from an employer to an employee, which may be specified in an employment contract. It is contrasted with piece wages, where each job, hour or other unit is paid separately, rather than on a periodic basis. F ...

.''Close Roll 9 Richard II'' While he was in Ireland his conduct as a judge was subject to serious criticism. He returned without permission to England later in 1386 and as a result, was accused of

misconduct Misconduct is wrongful, improper, or unlawful conduct motivated by premeditated or intentional purpose or by obstinate indifference to the consequences of one's acts. It is an act which is forbidden or a failure to do that which is required. Misc ...

. Again he seems to have escaped serious censure, despite his reputation as "a notorious criminal". In 1391 he was appointed a justice of the King's Bench and became Justiciar of

South Wales South Wales ( cy, De Cymru) is a loosely defined region of Wales bordered by England to the east and mid Wales to the north. Generally considered to include the historic counties of Glamorgan and Monmouthshire, south Wales extends westwards ...

in 1393. He was a trier of

petitions A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offi ...

in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in 1394, but was eventually removed from the Bench on the ground of his record as a notorious criminal (meanwhile the career of his accomplice Sir John Trevarthian junior was flourishing). Penros married firstly Joan, daughter of Richard Carnver, who died about 1391, and secondly, in about 1395, Constance, of whom little is known. With Joan he had at least two sons, William and John; John is said to have been an "imbecile from birth". Penros died in 1411.His date of death is given according to the ''History of Parliament''.

Francis Elrington Ball Francis Elrington Ball, known as F. Elrington Ball (1863–1928), was an Irish author and legal historian, best known for his work ''The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921'' (1926). Life A younger son of John Thomas Ball (1815 to 1898), the Lord Cha ...

, the great authority on Irish judges at this period, gives a much earlier date of death but may be confusing his political downfall with his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penros, John Medieval Cornish people 1411 deaths Year of birth missing People acquitted of murder Lords chief justice of Ireland Medieval English criminals Medieval thieves 15th-century criminals