John le Hunt, or Hunter (died after 1351) was an English-born judge who served briefly 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 ...

. He was the ancestor of the prominent Longueville family of

Wolverton Wolverton is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, England. It is located at the northern edge of Milton Keynes, beside the West Coast Main Line, the Grand Union Canal and the river Great Ouse. It is the administrative seat of Wolverton and ...

(which is now part of

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

Career

He was born in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-e ...

, son of Nicholas le Hunt of

Fenny Stratford Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes " designated area" in 1967. From 1895 ...

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 Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol. 1 p.78 The Nicholas le Hunt of Fenny Stratford who, jointly with his wife Agnes, exercised the right of

advowson Advowson () or patronage is the right in English law of a patron (avowee) to present to the diocesan bishop (or in some cases the ordinary if not the same person) a nominee for appointment to a vacant ecclesiastical benefice or church living, a ...

to present a

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 partic ...

to the living of Walton in 1348 was probably his brother. He accompanied the

Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monarch ...

, Sir Raoul (Ralph) d'Ufford, to Ireland in

1344 Year 1344 ( MCCCXLIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * March 26 – '' Reconquista'': The Siege of Algeciras (1342–44), one of the firs ...

and became a justice of the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) 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 King's Be ...

. The following year he became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, but served for only a year, and returned to England soon afterwards. We have a record of his attendance in his judicial capacity at at least one meeting of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal execu ...

in 1346.''Patent Roll 22 Edward III'' An order in 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 ...

the same year directs payment to him of £10, an installment of his salary, which was the then standard, £40 per annum.''Close Roll 20 Edward III''

Family

He married Margaret (or Margery) de Wolverton, daughter and eventual co-heiress of Sir John de Wolverton junior of

. They had one daughter, Joan, who married John Longueville of

Billing, Northamptonshire Billing is a civil parish in eastern Northampton in England, covering the Great Billing, Little Billing, Ecton Brook and Bellinge areas. It is geographically the largest area of Northampton. According to the 2001 census the parish had a popul ...

. John was probably a son or brother of Sir George de Longueville, "chevalier", who was

murdered 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 ...

in 1357. The Crown was sufficiently concerned about the killing to set up a judicial commission of inquiry, headed by

William de Notton Sir William de Notton, or Norton (died c.1365) was an English landowner and judge, who had a highly successful career in both England and Ireland, culminating in his appointment as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1361.Ball, F. Elrington ''The ...

, who was himself to be Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1361 to about 1365, but its outcome is unclear. Le Hunt was still alive in 1351 when, on the death of her brother Ralph, his wife Margaret and her sister Joan jointly inherited the Wolverton estates; these passed to John and Margaret's daughter Joan, and by descent, into the Longueville family (later generations used the spelling Longville), who remained at Wolverton until 1712.Baker p.241 After Hunt's death, his widow remarried three times: firstly to Roger de Louth, then to Richard Imworth, and finally to John Howes; but she is not known to have had any further children by her later husbands.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, John le People from Buckinghamshire Year of death uncertain Year of birth missing Lords chief justice of Ireland