William Weston (c. 1546–1594)

Sir William Weston (c. 1546–1594) was an English-born politician and judge who ended his career as Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas.

He was born in Gloucestershire, eldest son of Hugh Weston of Weston Park, Weston-sub-Edge. He is thought to have been a cousin of Robert Weston, Lord Chancellor of Ireland.[1]

Weston-sub-Edge, William Weston's birthplace, present day

He matriculated from Christ Church, Oxford in 1564 and took his degree as Bachelor of Arts in 1569. He entered Middle Temple and was elected Bencher and Reader in 1585.[2]

In the Parliament of 1593, he sat in the House of Commons of England as member for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis.[3] A few months later he was appointed Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland), with a knighthood. This was part of a Crown policy of appointing English-born judges to the most senior positions on the Irish Bench.[4] The policy had only limited success: many English judges (though by no means all) complained of the dampness of the Irish climate,[5] and, due to the bad roads and the. level of serious crime, they often refused to go on assize. Many of them sought to return to England as soon as a suitable vacancy on the English bench became available.[6]

Weston's own principal fault as a judge seem to have been inefficiency: he admitted that he could not keep order in his own court. He went on assize in Ulster in 1594 but fell ill there and died. He was survived by his widow and at least one son.[7]