Anthony Upton (1656–1718) was an English-born judge, much of whose career was spent in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. He was a close friend of the poet William King, who lived for a time at Mountown, Upton's country house near Dublin. Upton was accused by his critics of neglecting his official duties, but he showed a notably enlightened attitude at the Islandmagee witch trial of 1711, where he urged the jury, without success, to acquit the accused women. He was removed from the Bench in 1714, on account of his political affiliation, and returned to England, where he committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

for unknown reasons in 1718.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol. 2 p.87

Early life

He was born at

Monken Hadley Monken Hadley is an area in the London Borough of Barnet, at the northern edge of Greater London, England, lying some north north-west of Charing Cross. Anciently a country village near Chipping Barnet in Middlesex, and from 1889 to 1965 in Her ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

(now a suburb of north London). He was the son of John Upton (d.1689) of Hadley and later of Stoke Newington, Middlesex, by his wife Jane daughter of Sir John Lytcott of Molesey, Surrey.Upton Family Records. Being Genealogical Records For An Upton Family History. William Henry Upton, MA, 1811. He was educated at

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, first at Trinity College and then at

All Souls College All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

, from which he graduated in 1674. He entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1683.

Friendship with William King

He was appointed a judge of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is sti ...

in 1702. He acquired a comfortable house at Mountown, previously the family home of the noted writer

Sir Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steele was born in Dublin, ...

, near present-day Monkstown, Dublin. He was accused by his political opponents of spending most of his time at Mountown, to the neglect of his office, in the company of his friend, the poet William King. King wrote one of his best-known poems, ''Mully of Mountown'' (a mock ode to a red

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

) while staying with Upton.Ball p.27, 37 They shared a taste for

poetry Poetry (from the Greek language, Greek word ''poiesis'', "making") is a form of literature, literary art that uses aesthetics, aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language to evoke meaning (linguistics), meanings in addition to, or in ...

and a keen enjoyment of country life. Since King was also a Crown official, who held several senior positions including Judge Advocate and Commissioner for Prizes, there may be some justice in the criticism that they were both neglecting their official duties. It was said that the pair 'thought of nothing but spending their last years in their rural retreat"; but in the event, King returned to England in 1708 and died there in 1712. Upton, to do him justice, was not alone in neglecting his official duties: his colleague Sir Gilbert Dolben, 1st Baronet, despite his position on the Irish Court of Common Pleas, refused to vacate his seat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

and spent part of every year in England.

Witch trials

On at least one occasion Upton showed himself to be a responsible and humane judge: this was at the Islandmagee witch trial in 1711. These were apparently the last witchcraft trials in Ireland, and are said to have originated in a dispute between two

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

factions, the accusers being non-conformists while the accused were

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. Eight women- Janet Mean, Janet Latimer, Janet Miller, Margaret Mitchell, Catherine McCalmond, Janet Liston, Elizabeth Seller and Janet Carson- were accused of bewitching a young woman called Mary Dunbar. Upton in his summing-up to the

jury A jury is a sworn body of people (jurors) convened to hear evidence, make Question of fact, findings of fact, and render an impartiality, impartial verdict officially submitted to them by a court, or to set a sentence (law), penalty or Judgmen ...

did not deny the existence of

witchcraft Witchcraft is the use of Magic (supernatural), magic by a person called a witch. Traditionally, "witchcraft" means the use of magic to inflict supernatural harm or misfortune on others, and this remains the most common and widespread meanin ...

- which would be a very advanced view for the time- rather he dwelt on the good character of the accused. Since witches were expected to renounce churchgoing on giving their allegiance to the Devil, he pointed to the accuseds' regular attendance at church as evidence of their innocence (a similar point had been frequently made during the

Salem witch trials The Salem witch trials were a series of hearings and prosecutions of people accused of witchcraft in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colonial Massachusetts between February 1692 and May 1693. More than 200 people were accused. Not everyone wh ...

of 1692) and referred to their accuser Mary Dunbar's evidence as "visionary imaginings" (another echo of the Salem trials, where the mental health of the accusers was a crucial issue). He told the jury that they "could not bring the accused in guilty upon such evidence". Unfortunately for the accused, his fellow judge James Macartney urged the jury to convict, which they duly did. Since witchcraft was, in theory, a

capital crime Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

, the sentence- a year in prison and four sessions in the

pillory The pillory is a device made of a wooden or metal framework erected on a post, with holes for securing the head and hands, used during the medieval and renaissance periods for punishment by public humiliation and often further physical abuse. ...

- may seem relatively lenient, although it is said that the convicts were treated very roughly by an angry crowd while being pilloried. However Upton's enlightened attitude may have helped to ensure that there were no further witch trials in Ireland.

Death

On the death of Queen Anne in 1714, her Irish judges were removed ''en masse'' Except Gilbert Dolben, despite his record of absenteeism-Ball p.27 and most of them were in temporary political disgrace. No permanent damage was done to their reputation or their subsequent careers, but Upton perhaps felt the disgrace more keenly than the others. Abandoning his beloved home at Mountown, he returned to England and resumed his practice at the English Bar, but in 1718, while suffering from what was described as "

delirium Delirium (formerly acute confusional state, an ambiguous term that is now discouraged) is a specific state of acute confusion attributable to the direct physiological consequence of a medical condition, effects of a psychoactive substance, or ...

", he cut his throat at his temporary chambers at Gray's Inn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Upton, Anthony 1656 births 1718 deaths Alumni of All Souls College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Suicides by sharp instrument in England Justices of the Irish Common Pleas People from Monken Hadley 18th-century suicides 18th-century Irish judges