Thomas Bowring (c.1440-1504) was an English-born 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 ...

in fifteenth-century Ireland, who held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.Ball pp.109-110 He belonged to a prominent landowning family in Devon, who gave their name to the manor of Bowringsleigh, which they acquired about 1330.''History of Parliament '' His main estate was in nearby West Alvington, and he also acquired lands in Somerset and Gloucestershire, which passed on his death to his eldest son. West Alvington - All Saints Church He was a member of the Middle Temple and had the reputation of being a fine lawyer. He served as a commissioner for the peace in his native county between 1481 and 1487. In 1494 the temporary downfall of Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare, who for many years had been almost all-powerful in Ireland, led to the dismissal ''en masse'' of the Irish High Court judges, who were regarded by the Crown as being Kildare's puppets, and whose loyalty to the Crown was doubtful (with good reason, as several of them had been pardoned six years earlier for supporting the claim of the pretender Lambert Simnel to the English throne). They were replaced by eminent English lawyers, in whose loyalty the

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, Sir Edward Poynings, believed that the English Crown could place its trust. Bowring was sent to Ireland as Lord Chief Justice. Two years later he exchanged this place for the less onerous office of

Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas The chief justice of the Common Pleas for Ireland was the presiding judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Ireland, which was known in its early years as the Court of Common Bench, or simply as "the Bench", or "the Dublin bench". It was one of the s ...

. In 1495, on the King's instructions, he confirmed the charters and ancient liberty of the city of

Kilkenny Kilkenny (). is a city in County Kilkenny, Ireland. It is located in the South-East Region and in the province of Leinster. It is built on both banks of the River Nore. The 2016 census gave the total population of Kilkenny as 26,512. Kilken ...

. Soon afterwards, the Earl of Kildare was restored to royal favour and was once more allowed to appoint his own men to judicial office. Bowring, who had not been happy in Ireland, and was said to be "unable to accommodate himself to Irish ideas", gladly resigned from the Irish Bench and returned to Devon, where he continued to serve in various official capacities until his death in 1504. He was married twice, and by his first wife had three children: *Robert (died 1514), MP for

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

; *Ralph, who inherited the family estates after the death of Robert's only daughter, Thomasin, in 1518; *Alice, who married William Pyke. His second wife was Agnes Kelloway, daughter of William Kelloway of Sherborne and widow of Thomas Pomeroy of Berry Pomeroy; she died in 1518.

References

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 *Bindoff, S. T. ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558'' Boydell and Brewer 1982 *''Patent Roll 10 Henry VII''

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowring, Thomas People from Kingsbridge 1440s births 1504 deaths Members of the Middle Temple Lords chief justice of Ireland Chief Justices of the Irish Common Pleas