Henry Singleton (judge)

He was born in Drogheda, one of eleven children of Edward Singleton, Member of Parliament for Drogheda town and his wife Catherine Newton. He went to school in Drogheda Grammar School, graduated from the University of Dublin and was called to the Bar in 1707. Like his father he sat in the Irish House of Commons as MP for Drogheda and narrowly missed becoming Speaker of the House; he was also Recorder of Drogheda and became Prime Serjeant-at-law in 1726. He evidently found the office of Serjeant an onerous one, judging by his later pleas to be appointed to "a place of greater ease". It is interesting that he assumed that the workload of a High Court judge would be lighter than that of Serjeant.

In 1739, when the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland fell vacant, Singleton lobbied hard for it, arguing that his "fifteen years of faithful service to the Crown" surely entitled him to "a place of more ease, though less profit, than his present situation".[1] There was however a traditional reluctance on the part of the English Crown to appoint any Irish-born judge as Lord Chancellor,[2] and he was passed over in favour of Robert Jocelyn, 1st Viscount Jocelyn.[3] Singleton was finally raised to the Bench as Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas in 1740.[4]

Within a few years his health began to fail, although he made frequent visits to Bath and Spa in the hope of a cure. Despite pressure from William Yorke, his colleague in the Common Pleas and nephew by marriage, who was anxious to succeed him, he was reluctant to step down. Eventually in 1753 he resigned as Chief Justice; the following year he became Master of the Rolls in Ireland (which was then largely a sinecure rather than the senior judicial office which it became later). He held the Mastership until he died, unmarried, in 1759.

Mary Singleton Tisdall, "la belle Marie", Singleton's niece and heiress, painted by Angelica Kauffmann

His will contains a long list of bequests to his surviving sisters, and to his numerous nephews and nieces. The principal beneficiary was his niece Mary, daughter of his brother the Rev. Rowland Singleton, vicar of Termonfeckin, and his wife Elizabeth Graham, and sister of Charity Singleton Cope (1707-1779) , who married Sir William Yorke as her second husband. Mary married Philip Tisdall, Attorney General for Ireland from 1760 to 1777, who was a dominant figure in the Irish Government for many years. Mary ("la belle Marie") was a noted beauty: she and Philip were both painted by the celebrated Swiss painter Angelica Kauffman.[5]

Philipp Tisdall, the leading Irish statesman who married Singleton's niece and heiress Mary Singleton

In 1731 he built an impressive residence named Singleton House at Laurence Street, Drogheda.[6] It has been described as a three story mansion of red brick, with seven bay windows and magnificent oak-panelled interiors. It became derelict in the 20th century, and was demolished in 1989.[7] In Dublin he lived at Belvedere House, Drumcondra.

Despite a rather haughty manner, which led to his nickname "the Prime Serjeant Grand",[8] Singleton was loved and respected by all those who knew him well. He enjoyed the friendship of Jonathan Swift, who called him "the first of the worthiest" and appointed him his executor.[9] William Yorke, his successor as Chief Justice, and husband of his niece Charity, even while nudging him towards retirement, had nothing but praise for Singleton both as a man and a judge. The best tribute to his character is his noble behaviour during the Great Famine of 1740-41 when he donated much of his personal fortune to the relief of the poor of Drogheda, one of the towns worst affected by the famine, and adjourned the Court of Common Pleas, so that he could return home and supervise the relief works.