Richard Sydgrave
Richard Sydgrave or Segrave[1] (died 1425) was an Irish judge who held office as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer and served as deputy to the Lord Chancellor of Ireland; his family became among the foremost landowners in County Meath.[2]
An earlier member of the Seagrave family, Stephen, had been Archbishop of Armagh 1323–1333;[3] The exact relationship between the two men is unclear, although Richard was custodian of the See of Armagh in 1404.[4]
His first recorded office was Clerk of the Hanaper in the late 1390s. He became a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) in 1402 and Chief Baron in 1423;[5] he also acted as Deputy Lord Chancellor. He appears to have died in 1425.[6] In his last years the family acquired the lands of Killegland, now Ashbourne, County Meath, where they remained until the 1640s; he also held lands at Newry and in County Galway,[7] although it seems that he was never able to gain effective control of the Newry lands.[8]
The Segrave connection with the Court of Exchequer continued, with two subsequent members of the family serving among its members.[9]
References
- Sydegrove is yet another spelling of the family name.
- Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol.1 p. 172
- D'Alton, John King James' Irish Army List Dublin 1855 p. 729
- Ball p.172
- D'Alton p.730
- Ball p. 172
- Patent Roll 6 Henry IV
- Patent Roll 6 Henry IV
- Ball pp. 219, 226