Thomas Charlton (died 11 January 1344)Fryde ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 250 was

Bishop of Hereford The Bishop of Hereford is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. Until 1534, the Diocese of Hereford was in full communion with the Roman Catholic Church and two of its bishop ...

Lord High Treasurer The Lord High Treasurer was an English government position and has been a British government position since the Acts of Union of 1707. A holder of the post would be the third-highest-ranked Great Officer of State in England, below the Lord H ...

of England,

Lord Privy Seal The Lord Privy Seal (or, more formally, the Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal) is the fifth of the Great Officers of State (United Kingdom), Great Officers of State in the United Kingdom, ranking beneath the Lord President of the Council and abov ...

, and

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 ...

. He is buried in

Hereford Cathedral Hereford Cathedral, formally the , is a Church of England cathedral in Hereford, England. It is the seat of the bishop of Hereford and the principal church of the diocese of Hereford. The cathedral is a grade I listed building. A place of wors ...

in Hereford,

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

, England.

Family

Charlton was born near

Wellington, Shropshire Wellington is a market town and a civil parish in the borough of Telford and Wrekin, Shropshire, England. It is situated northwest of Telford and east of Shrewsbury, near the western terminus of the M54 motorway. The summit of The Wrekin lie ...

, younger son of Robert de Charleton of Apley, a small landowner. Thomas' eldest brother was

John Charleton, 1st Baron Cherleton John Charlton (also Charleton, Cherleton or Chorleton), 1st Baron Charlton of Powys (1268–1353) came from a family of minor landowners near Wellington, Shropshire. He was the son of Robert Charlton (and elder brother to Alan, and Thomas Charl ...

, who became a statesman of some importance after his marriage to

Hawys Gadarn Hawys Gadarn (Hawys ferch Owain ap Gruffudd ap Gwenwynwyn), also known as the Hardy, the Powerful, the Intrepid, and Hawise de la Pole, (1291 – ) was the daughter of Owen de la Pole and the heir to Powys Wenwynwyn in Wales. She was married to Jo ...

, heiress to the Lordship of Powys. Both brothers were in the household of

Edward II Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

, and Thomas received numerous ecclesiastical preferments. The executors of his will were: Alan Cherleton, knight, John Cherleton, junior, knight; William de Sheynton, Richard de Sydenhale, Henry Shipton, Adam Esger and Alan Venyse. 1349; Plea rolls of the court of Common Pleas; CP40/358; http://aalt.law.uh.edu/E3/CP40no358/cCP40no358mm101dtoEnd/IMG_8453.htm

Appointments

Charlton was

from 1316 to 1320.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 93 Charlton was nominated to be Bishop of Hereford on 25 September 1327 and

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

on 18 October 1327.

In Ireland

In 1337 his brother John was appointed

Justiciar of Ireland The chief governor was the senior official in the Dublin Castle administration, which maintained English and British rule in Ireland from the 1170s to 1922. The chief governor was the viceroy of the English monarch (and later the British monar ...

, and Thomas accompanied him to Ireland as Lord Chancellor. He was charged by the English Crown to inquire into the perceived inadequacy and

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

of the Irish

courts of common law A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts general ...

and was authorised to remove the Irish judges and appoint English replacements. His mission does not seem to have been a success, as most of the existing judges, notably the notoriously corrupt Simon Fitz-Richard, the

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 ...

, fought off all attempts to replace them. John resigned as justiciar in 1338, following a dispute, and Thomas moved from the Chancellorship to the position of custos rotulorum for Ireland. Charlton was also

from 2 July 1328 until 16 September 1329.Fryde, et al. ''Handbook of British Chronology'' p. 105

Citations

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Charlton, Thomas 1344 deaths People from Wellington, Shropshire Lord high treasurers of England Lords Privy Seal Bishops of Hereford 14th-century English Roman Catholic bishops Burials at Hereford Cathedral Year of birth unknown Lords Lieutenant of Ireland