John de Troye

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
View of Mitchel Troy, John's birthplace

John de Troye (died 1371) was a Welsh-born Crown official and judge in fourteenth century Ireland, who held the offices of Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and Lord Treasurer of Ireland.[1] He was also a leading ecclesiastic, whose most senior office was Chancellor of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. He was a notable pluralist.[2]

He took his name from his birthplace, Mitchel Troy in Monmouthshire.[2]

He is first heard of in Ireland in 1346 when he was prebendary of Cloyne.[2] On the temporary removal from the Irish Bench of William de Epworth, he became second Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) in 1347. Epworth was restored to office the following year but Troye was permitted to continue drawing a judge's salary and was given another position in the Exchequer of Ireland as Clerk of the Wages.

The Exchequer was then divided into two rival factions: Troye was closely associated with the faction headed by John de Burnham, the Treasurer.[3] From 1348 onwards Burnham was under constant attack from the rival faction, headed by William de Barton, for alleged financial irregularities, and he spent much of his time in England attempting to clear his name. Troye became involved in the controversy: he had already clashed with the English Exchequer over his accounts and been threatened with distraint of his property.[4] He and Burnham were now accused of corruptly diverting accounts to their own use, but they were both eventually cleared of all charges: the English Crown accepted that the suspicions arose largely from a technical misunderstanding about Irish auditing methods, and had been aggravated by the false allegations made by William de Barton.[5]

He was a notorious pluralist: in addition to holding the prebend of Cloyne and the Chancellorship of St. Patrick's Cathedral, he was prebendary of Ferns and of Emly. He also held the English living of Amersham in Buckinghamshire.[2]

Troye became Lord Treasurer of Ireland in 1364 or 1365 and Chancellor of the Irish Exchequer in 1368.[2] He probably died in 1371.

References[]

  1. ^ Ball, F. Elrington The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol. 1 p.79
  2. ^ a b c d e Ball p.79
  3. ^ Connolly, Philomena The Proceedings against John de Burnham Treasurer of Ireland 1343-1349 in "Essays Presented to J.F. Lydon" Cambridge University Press 1993 p. 59
  4. ^ Connolly p.66
  5. ^ Connolly p.67
Retrieved from ""