Robert Sibthorp(e) was an Anglican

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

during the first half of the seventeenth century. He was born at

Great Bardfield Great Bardfield is a large village in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located approximately northwest of the town of Braintree, and approximately southeast of Saffron Walden. The village came to national attention during the ...

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

, one of the three sons of John Sibthorpe.Ball, F. Elrington (1926). The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921. London: John Murray. His mother may have been called Jane Berners, but this is uncertain. Sir

Christopher Sibthorpe Sir Christopher Sibthorpe (died 1632) was an English-born lawyer who had a distinguished career in Ireland as a judge and politician, and was also a religious writer of some note.Ball pp.242-3 Early life He was born in Great Bardfield, Essex, ...

(died 1632), justice of the

Court of King's Bench (Ireland) The Court of King's Bench (of Queen's Bench when the sovereign was female, and formerly of Chief Place or Chief Pleas) 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 King's Be ...

, was one of his brothers. Robert graduated from

Lincoln College, Oxford Lincoln College (formally, The College of the Blessed Mary and All Saints, Lincoln) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, situated on Turl Street in central Oxford. Lincoln was founded in 1427 by Richard Fleming, t ...

. Christopher, as well as being a judge, was a noted religious

polemicist Polemic () is contentious rhetoric intended to support a specific position by forthright claims and to undermine the opposing position. The practice of such argumentation is called ''polemics'', which are seen in arguments on controversial topics ...

. Both brothers were friends of

James Ussher James Ussher (or Usher; 4 January 1581 – 21 March 1656) was the Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625 and 1656. He was a prolific scholar and church leader, who today is most famous for his iden ...

, appointed Archbishop of Armagh in 1625, who encouraged Christopher to write more. This friendship no doubt fostered the career of Robert, who presumably shared his brother's

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. P ...

and Anti-Catholic beliefs, (as did Ussher).

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

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...

, also praised Robert as an "honest and able man", and he has the respect of his fellow Bishops, who in 1640 recommended him for the vacant

See of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been ...

. Formerly

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury o ...

of Killaloe and

Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of t ...

Maynooth Maynooth (; ga, Maigh Nuad) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick ...

St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin Saint Patrick's Cathedral ( ir, Ard-Eaglais Naomh Pádraig) in Dublin, Ireland, founded in 1191 as a Roman Catholic cathedral, is currently the national cathedral of the Church of Ireland. Christ Church Cathedral, also a Church of Ireland cat ...

, he was nominated

Bishop of Kilfenora The Bishop of Kilfenora () was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the village of Kilfenora in County Clare in the Republic of Ireland. In both the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church, the title is now united with ot ...

on 19 June 1638 and consecrated on 11 November that year. In 1643 he was translated to

Limerick Limerick ( ; ga, Luimneach ) is a western city in Ireland situated within County Limerick. It is in the province of Munster and is located in the Mid-West which comprises part of the Southern Region. With a population of 94,192 at the 2016 ...

, where he found that the Diocese had been so utterly wasted by the ravages of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

that he was unable to derive any revenue from his bishopric. Cotton, Henry (1851). The Province of Munster. Fasti Ecclesiae Hiberniae: The Succession of the Prelates and Members of the Cathedral Bodies of Ireland. Volume 1 (2nd ed.). Dublin: Hodges and Smith He died in April 1649 and was buried in

St. Werburgh's Church, Dublin St. Werburgh's Church is a Church of Ireland church building in Dublin, Ireland. The original church on this site was built in 1178, shortly after the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in the town. It was named after St. Werburgh, abbess of Ely an ...

. Neither he nor Christopher had any children, and their property passed to the children of their brother William Sibthorpe of Dunany, of whom we know most of their niece, Lucy. Lucy married Henry Bellingham of Gernonstown, County Louth, ancestor of the

Bellingham Baronets There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Bellingham, one in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Ireland and one in the Baronetage of Great Britain. As of 2014 one creation is extant. The Bellingham ...

of Castlebellingham.Foster, Joseph (1881). Baronetage and Knightage of Ireland. Westminster: Nichols and Sons. John Sibthorpe, a barrister of the

King's Inns The Honorable Society of King's Inns ( ir, Cumann Onórach Óstaí an Rí) is the "Inn of Court" for the Bar of Ireland. Established in 1541, King's Inns is Ireland's oldest school of law and one of Ireland's significant historical environment ...

in the 1620s, was no doubt another family member.Kenny, Colum (1992) King's Inns and the Kingdom of Ireland. Dublin: Irish Academic Press.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibthorp, Robert Bishops of Kilfenora (Church of Ireland) Bishops of Limerick (Church of Ireland) 1649 deaths Alumni of Lincoln College, Oxford People from Essex