Walter Wellesley (c.1470–1539) was a sixteenth-century Irish cleric and judge. He was Prior of Great Connell Priory, Bishop of Kildare 1529-39, and Master of the Rolls in Ireland 1531-2.

Background and early career

He was born about 1470, the second son of Sir William Wellesley (c.1443-1502) of Dangan,

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

and his wife Ismay, daughter of Sir Thomas Fitz-Christopher Plunket,

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) 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 Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

and his second wife Marian Cruise. The Wellesley family had come to Ireland from Wells in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

in the 1220s, and settled in Kildare and Meath.Longford, Elizabeth ''Wellington - the Years of the Sword'' Weidenfeld and Nicolson 1969 pp.27-8 Walter was educated at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

, and was said to have been one of the outstanding scholars of his time.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921'' John Murray London 1926 Vol. 1 p.194 He became an Augustinian friar, and sometime before 1520 became

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of their house at Great Connell near

Newbridge, County Kildare Newbridge, officially known by its Irish language, Irish name Droichead Nua (), is a town in County Kildare, Ireland. While the nearby Great Connell Priory was founded in the 13th century, the town itself formed from the 18th century onwards, an ...

. For the rest of his life, he never wavered in his devotion to the welfare of the Priory.

Bishop

Wellesley was called a man who "had a singular mind towards the maintenance of English rule in Ireland", and as a result, he enjoyed the trust of

Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...

. Henry proposed him as

Bishop of Limerick The Bishop of Limerick is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Limerick in the Province of Munster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Church it still continues as a sepa ...

, but the choice was rejected by

the Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the pope was the sovereign or head of sta ...

. In 1520

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, the

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, suggested him as

Bishop of Cork The Bishop of Cork was a separate episcopal title which took its name after the city of Cork in Ireland. The title is now united with other bishoprics. In the Church of Ireland it is held by the Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, and in the Roman ...

, but Wellesley himself rejected the proposal when he was told that, if he accepted the see of Cork, he could not remain Prior of his beloved Great Connell. Finally, in 1529 he became Bishop of Kildare, on the condition he could also remain Prior. He was Master of the Rolls in 1521-2.

Suppression of Great Connell

Greatconnell Priory East Window 2013 09 05

Though he was trusted by the Crown to carry out its policies faithfully, Wellesley showed little enthusiasm for the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, his great concern was to ensure the survival of Great Connell. In 1537 he asked for it to be exempted from confiscation on the ground that it was part of the Diocese of Kildare. His assurance to

Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...

that "no brother is elected unless he be of the English nation" was not necessarily a sign of anti-Irish prejudice, since monasteries within

the Pale The Pale ( Irish: ''An Pháil'') or the English Pale (' or ') was the part of Ireland directly under the control of the English government in the Late Middle Ages. It had been reduced by the late 15th century to an area along the east coast s ...

were not permitted to admit Irish

monks A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

, and he may simply have been stressing that Great Connell observed this rule strictly. Wellesley's influence with the King was great enough to ensure the survival of Great Connell for a few more years, but two years after his death the last Prior surrendered it. The lands were granted to Edward Randolfe, and later passed to the eminent judge Nicholas White, and the priory was allowed to fall into ruin.

Death and memorials

Kildare Cathedral Tomb of Walter Wellesley 2013 09 04

Wellesley died in October 1539 and was buried in Great Connell where an impressive

effigy An effigy is a sculptural representation, often life-size, of a specific person or a prototypical figure. The term is mostly used for the makeshift dummies used for symbolic punishment in political protests and for the figures burned in certain ...

was erected to his memory. After the dissolution of the priory the tomb was lost: it was finally rediscovered by the Kildare Archaeological Society in 1971. The restored tomb is now in

Kildare Cathedral Kildare Cathedral, or St Brigid's Cathedral in Kildare, is one of two Church of Ireland cathedrals in the Diocese of Meath and Kildare, United Dioceses of Meath and Kildare. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Province of Dublin (Church of I ...

Character

Bishop Wellesley was described as a man of "gravity and virtuous conversation", the most famous scholar in Ireland in his time, and a firm upholder of English rule.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wellesley, Walter 16th-century Irish bishops 1470 births 1539 deaths Bishops of Kildare Masters of the Rolls in Ireland 16th-century Irish judges Lawyers from County Meath Christian clergy from County Meath