John Wainwright (1689-1741) was an English-born

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

who became a much-loved

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

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 celebrated for his charm and classical learning as well as his legal ability.Ball, F. Elrington ''"The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921"'' p.132 He was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

, elder son of Thomas Wainwright (died 1720),

Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

of the

Diocese of Chester The Diocese of Chester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York covering the pre-1974 county of Cheshire and therefore including the Wirral and parts of Stockport, Trafford and Tameside. History Ancient diocese Before the si ...

, and his wife Rebecca Jackson: they married in 1686. His grandfather John Wainwright (died 1686) had also been Chancellor of Chester, and John erected a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

to his father and grandfather in

Chester Cathedral Chester Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral and the mother church of the Diocese of Chester. It is located in the city of Chester, Cheshire, England. The cathedral, formerly the abbey church of a Benedictine monastery dedicated to Saint ...

.Ball p.121 He seems to have had some interest in

ecclesiastical law Canon law (from , , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical jurisdiction, ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its membe ...

, and possessed a

casebook A casebook is a type of textbook used primarily by students in law schools.Wayne L. Anderson and Marilyn J. Headrick, The Legal Profession: Is it for you?' (Cincinnati: Thomson Executive Press, 1996), 83. Rather than simply laying out the legal do ...

Ecclesiastical Court In organized Christianity, an ecclesiastical court, also called court Christian or court spiritual, is any of certain non-adversarial courts conducted by church-approved officials having jurisdiction mainly in spiritual or religious matters. Histo ...

cases, which still exists. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, where he gained a reputation for outstanding scholarship. He entered the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1708 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 1716. Despite his intellectual gifts, his legal practice did not flourish, and at one point he was contemplating a move to the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

. On the other hand, his charm and learning made him a favourite at Court: he had a position in the household of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

, and was a friend of the future

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

the Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne, 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne (21 July 1693 – 17 November 1768) was an English Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, and whose official life extended througho ...

, who had been at Westminster with him, and of the influential Royal favourite Charlotte Clayton, Baroness Sundon. In 1730 he received an appointment, possibly a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is a position with a salary or otherwise generating income that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval church, ...

, to the Stannary Courts of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

. In 1732 he was sent to Ireland as the third Baron of the

Court of Exchequer (Ireland) The Court of Exchequer (Ireland), or the Irish Exchequer of Pleas, was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was the mirror image of the equivalent court in England. The Court of Exchequer was one of the four royal courts of jus ...

. The third Baron, despite his junior rank, held a surprisingly lucrative position as he received

fees A fee is the price one pays as remuneration for rights or services. Fees usually allow for overhead (business), overhead, wages, costs, and Profit (accounting), markup. Traditionally, professionals in the United Kingdom (and previously the Repub ...

for the swearing of

affidavits An ( ; Medieval Latin for "he has declared under oath") is a written statement voluntarily made by an ''affiant'' or '' deponent'' under an oath or affirmation which is administered by a person who is authorized to do so by law. Such a stateme ...

, and Wainwright, after his long struggle to make a living at the English bar, guarded his perquisites jealously, fighting any suggestion that he be promoted to a more senior but less well-remunerated office. Even when the Government, which wished to find a seat on the Bench for the

Solicitor General for Ireland The Solicitor-General for Ireland was the holder of an Irish and then (from the Act of Union 1800) United Kingdom government office. The holder was a deputy to the Attorney-General for Ireland, and advised the Crown on Irish legal matters. On r ...

, put pressure on him to accept promotion, he firmly resisted. Wainwright quickly became as popular in Ireland as he had been at home. He made numerous friends, including Lord Chancellor Jocelyn,

George Berkeley George Berkeley ( ; 12 March 168514 January 1753), known as Bishop Berkeley (Bishop of Cloyne of the Anglican Church of Ireland), was an Anglo-Irish philosopher, writer, and clergyman who is regarded as the founder of "immaterialism", a philos ...

and

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

. He lived at

Mount Merrion Mount Merrion () is a suburb of Dublin, Ireland. It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Location and access Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) southw ...

House, south of

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

city, which he rented from

Viscount FitzWilliam Viscount FitzWilliam, of Merrion in the County of Dublin, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1629 for Thomas FitzWilliam, along with the subsidiary title Baron FitzWilliam, of Thorncastle in the County of Dublin, also in th ...

, and wrote enthusiastically about the house and surrounding countryside. During the Irish Famine (1740-1741), Wainwright was noted for his charity to the sick and starving. He continued conscientiously to perform his judicial duties, despite the highly infectious

fever Fever or pyrexia in humans is a symptom of an anti-infection defense mechanism that appears with Human body temperature, body temperature exceeding the normal range caused by an increase in the body's temperature Human body temperature#Fever, s ...

which was rampant in the Famine years. He was warned by friends as to the dangers he was incurring by going on circuit; as they rightly predicted "some misfortune may befall". Wainwright however evidently thought that it was his duty to go: "he had the right to decline" Lord Jocelyn, the

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

and a close friend, wrote anxiously, "but accepted on a principle of humanity". While on

assize The assizes (), or courts of assize, were periodic courts held around England and Wales until 1972, when together with the quarter sessions they were abolished by the Courts Act 1971 and replaced by a single permanent Crown Court. The assizes ex ...

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

in the spring of 1741 he fell seriously ill of the fever, and was brought back to Dublin, where he died at Mount Merrion in early April. He is buried at

St Mary's Church, Stockport St Mary's Church is the oldest parish church in the town of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It stands in Churchgate overlooking the market place. The church is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade ...

. An Irish elegy paid eloquent tribute to his qualities: "a steady heart, discerning and discreet, in temper candid and in manner sweet". Lord Jocelyn a few weeks earlier had written that his death "would be a great loss to me on account of our particular friendship", and also to the public, as he had the ability to be an outstanding judge, and was still just over fifty years old. He married in 1726 Anne Parsons, daughter of the wealthy

brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer, ...

and Member of Parliament Sir John Parsons of

Reigate Reigate ( ) is a town status in the United Kingdom, town in Surrey, England, around south of central London. The settlement is recorded in Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Cherchefelle'', and first appears with its modern name in the 1190s. The ea ...

and his second wife Jane Milward. They had no children.Ball p.202

Sources

*Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' London John Murray 1926 *Ball, F. Elrington ''Mount Merrion and its History'' (1898) Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 5th Series Vol. 8 p. 329 *''Diary of Dr Thomas Cartwright, Bishop of Chester'' Reprinted by Wipf and Stock 2020 *''Faulkner's Dublin Journal 1741'' *Kelly, Richard J. ''The Courts, Judges and Legal Office-Holders of Ireland in 1739'' (1904) Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 5th Series Vol.35 p. 20 *''Summary of Catalogue of Manuscripts in the Church Representative Library Dublin''

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wainwright, John Barons of the Irish Exchequer Members of the Inner Temple People from Chester People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford 1689 births 1741 deaths