Richard de Wirkeley (died after 1357) was an English-born cleric who was Prior of the Order of
Hospitallers
The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...
in Ireland and held office very 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 ...
.
Little is known of his early years. De Wirkeley was a fairly common name in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...
in that era; it may indicate a connection with the town of
Wakefield
Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...
. He had entered the Order's English house by 1353. In 1354 he was sent to Ireland as Prior of the Order's Irish house at
Kilmainham
Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum.
History
In t ...
. In 1356 he was chosen to replace
John de Rednesse as Lord Chief Justice, who had gone to England "without the King's licence";
[''Calendar of Patent Rolls 30 Edward III 9 May 1356'' ] but King
Edward III quickly changed his mind and reappointed Rednesse. Wirkeley seems to have resented his removal from office since the King issued an injunction ordering him not to meddle in the matter any further.
The incident suggests that de Wirkeley was a somewhat turbulent individual. This is confirmed by an episode which occurred the following year, when the King appointed a commission to investigate an allegation that Simon Warde, a servant to
John Gynwell,
Bishop of Lincoln
The Bishop of Lincoln is the ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln in the Province of Canterbury.
The present diocese covers the county of Lincolnshire and the unitary authority areas of North Lincolnshire and ...
, had been assaulted by Wirkeley and other members of his Order, including
John Paveley, Prior of the Order's English house, on whom Warde had been attempting to serve a
summons to appear in a
lawsuit. It is notable that the commission included two men,
Henry de Motlowe and
William de Notton, who like Wirkeley served as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.
[''Calendar of Patent Rolls 31 Edward III 9 May 1357''] As often in this era, the result of the inquiry seems to have been inconclusive.
In fairness to Wirkeley, it should be remembered that the Hospitallers were a fighting Order. The Prior was as much a soldier as a cleric, and accustomed to taking firm action to defend his Order's interests, and a Prior who failed to display sufficient martial spirit was open to criticism.
His date of death is unknown.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wirkeley, Richard de
14th-century English people
Lords chief justice of Ireland