Henry Draycott

Background

Draycott was a native of Denby in Derbyshire; his family name probably derives from the village of Draycott, Derbyshire. Little is known of his parents or of his early life. Despite his later eminence as a judge, it is not clear when he was called to the Bar or indeed if he was a barrister at all. He is first recorded. in Ireland in 1544; his first official post was treasurer of the Lordship of Wexford, and he received a lease of Crown lands there.

Administrator

Draycott rose quickly to a position of influence in the Irish administration, becoming Chief Remembrancer, a senior position in the Court of Exchequer. He was elected to the Irish House of Commons as member for Naas in 1560. He was entrusted with a number of political missions to England, and was later a reliable supporter of Sir Henry Sidney; he was given the task of settling a controversy between the Earl of Ormond and the Earl of Desmond, and was involved in the settlement of Munster in 1567.

Draycott was granted substantial properties in Counties Meath and Louth. His main estate was at Mornington; he also owned the manor of Donnycarney and property in Dundalk. Like most English settlers he was indifferent to the rights of earlier owners and was willing to assist other members of his class in "finding" (often a euphemism for forgery) title to land; in particular John Hooker, when he was secretary to Sir Peter Carew, refers to the assistance Draycott gave to Carew in acquiring land.

Judicial career

Draycott became a Baron of the Court of Exchequer (Ireland) in 1563 and Master of the Rolls in 1566. Although he gained a reputation for integrity, Elrington Ball queries his suitability for either office and in particular for the Mastership, since it is not clear if he had any legal qualifications . However the Mastership of the Rolls was then largely an administrative office and Draycott was undoubtedly an efficient administrator; one of his principal tasks was to peruse, sort and classify the official records. Another objection to his appointment was his chronic ill-health: in 1567 Sir Henry Sidney, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, described him as "a very sick and a weak man". He was chosen as one of the lessees of the King's Inn in the same year. He died in 1572.

Character

Despite his lack of legal qualifications, Draycott has been praised as a judge of integrity, and as a man whose service to the Crown deserved praise. Less attractive was his greed for acquiring land and willingness to help other settlers in similar transactions. Unlike most English settlers at this time he may have had Roman Catholic sympathies: though he was outwardly a Protestant his family within a few years of his death became and remained Roman Catholics.

Queen Elizabeth I had a personal regard for Draycott, and on his death wrote that she was sorry to have lost one whom she esteemed as a good and faithful servant, but trusted that he had exchanged this world for a better one.

Descendants

Draycott was married and had at least two children, John and Alice. His widow, Mary, remarried Owen Moore, the Muster Master for Ireland: in II 1577 Owen was granted wardship of his stepson John and the right to arrange his marriage. John was knighted as Sir John Draycott: he married Anne Barnewall, daughter of Sir Christopher Barnewall and had six children.

Henry's daughter Alice died in mysterious circumstances after falling ill at a banquet in Dublin Castle in 1576. Rumour had it that she was poisoned accidentally by assassins acting on the orders of the Earl of Leicester, who had been aiming for Leicester's enemy the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, who had drunk from the same cup as Alice, and also died. The autopsy on Leicester found mo evidence of poisoning, and the cause of death in both cases was probably dysentery. Leicester's enemies habitually blamed the death of anyone he had a grudge against on him, but there appears to be no substance to any of these claims.

Draycott's descendant, Henry Draycott of Mornington, died in 1694 without lawful issue: this led to a notable lawsuit, Draycott v. Talbot in which one Edward Draycott claimed, unsuccessfully, to be Henry's lawful son and heir.