Sir Robert Meredyth (1597 – 17 October 1668) was an Irish politician and lawyer who served as

Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland The Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland was the head of the Exchequer of Ireland and a member of the Dublin Castle administration under the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the Kingdom of Ireland. In early times the office was sometimes called ...

Family

Meredyth was the son of Bishop Richard Meredith and Sarah Bathow. In 1618 he married Anne, daughter of Sir William Ussher, clerk of the council in Ireland. His eldest son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1660 and his third son was Sir Charles Meredyth. After Meredyth's father's death, his mother married

Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Loftus (c. 1568–1643), was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1619 and from 1622 raised to the peerage of Ireland as Viscount Loftus of Ely, King's County. His uncle, another Adam Loftus, was both Lord Chancellor of Irela ...

. Meredyth's daughter, Alice, married

Charles Coote, 2nd Earl of Mountrath Charles Coote, 2nd Earl of Mountrath (c.1630 – 30 August 1672) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Coote was the son of Charles Coote, 1st Earl of Mountrath and Mary Ruish, daughter of Sir Francis Ruish. He was knighted in 1660. Between Apri ...

Career

Meredyth was admitted to

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 ...

in 1611. He sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

for several constituencies, including

Boyle Boyle may refer to: Places United States * Boyle, Kansas, an unincorporated community * Boyle, Mississippi, a town *Boyle County, Kentucky *Boyle Heights, Los Angeles, a neighborhood Elsewhere * Boyle (crater), a lunar crater * 11967 Boyle, ...

Augher Augher (from meaning "edge/border") is a small village in south County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It lies just 6 miles to the border with County Monaghan and is 16 miles south of Dungannon. It is situated in the historic barony of Clogher and ...

and

Athy Athy ( ; ) is a market town at the meeting of the River Barrow and the Grand Canal in south-west County Kildare, Ireland, 72 kilometres southwest of Dublin. A population of 11,035 (as of the 2022 census) made it the sixth largest town in Kil ...

.John O'Hart, ''The Irish and Anglo-Irish Landed Gentry when Cromwell Came to Ireland'' (J. Duffey; M. H. Gill & son, 1892), p.46. In 1625 Meredyth was secretary to Loftus as

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 ...

. In 1634, Meredyth was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland. On 6 September 1635 he was knighted by

Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford (13 April 1593 (New Style, N.S.)12 May 1641), was an English people, English statesman and a major figure in the period leading up to the English Civil War. He served in Parliament of England, Parliament ...

. In July 1643 he was arrested alongside Loftus, Sir John Temple and Sir William Parsons for supporting

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

during the civil war; he was released in 1645. Meredyth retained the position of Chancellor throughout the

British Interregnum The interregnum in the British Isles began with the execution of Charles I in January 1649 (and from September 1651 in Scotland) and ended in May 1660 when his son Charles II was restored to the thrones of the three realms, although he had be ...

and following the

Stuart Restoration The Stuart Restoration was the reinstatement in May 1660 of the Stuart monarchy in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland. It replaced the Commonwealth of England, established in January 164 ...

until his death in 1668.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredyth, Robert 1597 births 1668 deaths 17th-century Irish lawyers Chancellors of the Exchequer of Ireland Irish MPs 1634–1635 Irish MPs 1639–1649 Knights Bachelor Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kildare constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Tyrone constituencies

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

Roundheads