Hugh Canoun

Nettlecombe

He was a native of Woodford, Somerset (now Nettlecombe), where he owned a "house and close"; he later complained that his house had been ransacked during his long absence abroad.[1] He was in Ireland, presumably practicing law, by 1294.[1] He was High Sheriff of Kildare in 1306. He was appointed to the Court of Common Pleas (which was then usually called "the Bench") in 1308, on the nomination of Piers Gaveston, the Royal favourite.[3] He was also made Chief Escheator of Ireland in 1310 [5]and justice in eyre in Dublin.[3]

In 1311 he was "impleaded", i.e. prosecuted, at Westminster, on charges connected to his conduct of his judicial duties.[3] He took the precaution of obtaining letters of protection from several of the leading figures in Ireland, including the Earl of Ulster and the Justiciar of Ireland, John Wogan, and their support seem to have resulted in the matter being dropped.[3] He seems to have been held in high regard by his judicial colleagues, one of whom, possibly Sir Richard de Exeter, wrote a letter describing Hugh as "the man most knowledgeable in the various kinds of business which concerns the King".[3]

He resigned from the Court of Common Pleas in 1312. He was appointed a justice of the Justiciar's Court in 1315, and served as Deputy Justiciar in 1316.[1] He was also appointed Chief Justice in Eyre.[3]

During the Bruce Invasion of Ireland of 1315-18 his loyalty to the Crown was considered deeply suspect. He was a supporter of Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, who in turn had shown his loyalty to Hugh in 1311 when he was impleaded at Westminster.[3] Ulster's daughter Elizabeth married Robert the Bruce, raising inevitable suspicions about his own loyalty, although in fact the Earl opposed the Bruces and fought for the Crown.[4] In 1317 it was rumoured that Canoun had ordered his brother-in-law to guide Robert's brother Edward Bruce, who led the invading forces, through County Kildare.[4] There appears to be no firm evidence of Canoun's disloyalty, but similar accusations were made against his colleague Sir Richard de Exeter, the Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, whose daughter had married Walter de Lacy, a known rebel and supporter of the Bruces. A petition asking for Exeter to be removed from office was not acted on.[4] No harm came to Canoun, who as on previous occasions could rely on his powerful connections for protection.[3]

In 1316 Canoun petitioned the Crown for a grant of Rathcoffey and the lands neighbouring it in County Kildare, which had reverted to the Crown on the death of Isabel, widow of Henry de Rochford.[6] The official endorsement on the petition praised Hugh for his good and faithful service as a judge in Ireland, (this was evidently before he fell under suspicion of supporting Edward Bruce), but the relevant officials clearly had doubts about the propriety of making him a grant, since John Wogan, the former Justiciar, already held the lands. The grant to Wogan was confirmed shortly afterwards, and his descendants built Rathcoffey Castle on the property.

The ruins of Rathcoffey Castle: Hugh unsuccessfully petitioned for a grant of the lands of Rathcoffey

Hugh's wife ws called Albreda.[1] It is likely that they had sons, as in his petition for possession of Rathcoffey he specified that the lands should descend by entail male, i.e. to his male heirs. His date of death is not recorded. He has been described as a figure of very considerable importance in early fourteenth century Ireland.[3]

• Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 London John Murray 1926
• Hand, Geoffrey English Law in Ireland 1290-1324 Cambridge University Press 1967
• National Archives Petition of Hugh Canoun (Canon) Ref. SC/8/331/15696B
• Otway-Ruthven, A.J. A History of Medieval Ireland Barnes and Noble reissue New York 1993