Robert Wikeford was a distinguished English diplomat who went on to become Lord Chancellor of Ireland

Lord Chancellor of Ireland

The office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was the highest judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 to 1801 it was also the highest political office of the Irish Parliament.-13th century:...

 and Archbishop of Dublin

Archbishop of Dublin

The Archbishop of Dublin may refer to:* Archbishop of Dublin – an article which lists of pre- and post-Reformation archbishops.* Archbishop of Dublin – the title of the senior cleric who presides over the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin....

.

Early career

He was born at Wickford

Wickford

Wickford is a town in the south of the English county of Essex, with a population of more than 32,500. Located approximately 30 miles east of London, it falls within the District of Basildon along with Basildon, Billericay, Laindon and Pitsea....

  in Essex

Essex

Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

, where his family are said to have been Lords of the Manor of Wickford. He was a fellow of Merton College, Oxford

Merton College, Oxford

Merton College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, chancellor to Henry III and later to Edward I, first drew up statutes for an independent academic community and established endowments to...

, became a clerk of the Chancery , and Archdeacon of Winchester

Winchester

Winchester is a historic cathedral city and former capital city of England. It is the county town of Hampshire, in South East England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government district, and is located at the western end of the South Downs, along the course of...

 in 1368.

He seems to have been a man of diplomatic and military ability, and was entrusted by King Edward III with a number of diplomatic missions to the rulers of Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

 and Brabant

Duchy of Brabant

The Duchy of Brabant was a historical region in the Low Countries. Its territory consisted essentially of the three modern-day Belgian provinces of Flemish Brabant, Walloon Brabant and Antwerp, the Brussels-Capital Region and most of the present-day Dutch province of North Brabant.The Flag of...

 and the King of Aragon. In 1373 he was made Constable of Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

 and later joined with the Seneschal in the government of Aquitaine

Aquitaine

Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...

.

O'Flanagan records that in 1375 the royal judges in Aquitaine in a case in which Wikeford was defendant, gave judgement against him without hearing him in his defence and imposed financial penalties of great severity.Wikeford however appealed to the King in Council, and the King immediately ordered the judgement to be cancelled. The episode suggests that Wikeford, though a valued Crown servant , was not popular.

Irish career

In 1375 Wickford became Archbishop of Dublin and a year later was made Lord Chancellor. O'Flanagan believes that despite the lack of records there is evidence that he was a gifted and conscientious Chancellor; in addition to judicial business he undertook a vast range of official duties, including holding Parliament at Castledermot

Castledermot

Castledermot is an inland village in the south-east of Ireland in County Kildare, about from Dublin, and from the town of Carlow. The N9 road from Dublin to Waterford passes through the village but completion of a bypass is due during 2010.-Demographics:...

. He was granted the manor of Swords

Swords

A sword is a cutting/thrusting weapon made of metal. Sword or swords may also refer to:* Swords, County Dublin, Ireland* Suit of swords, a suit in Latin-suited playing cards and Tarot decks* SWORDS, a ground-based military robot...

, near Dublin, and the right to hold a fair there. He ceased to be Chancellor about 1380, and as he aged his duties as Primate

Primate

A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...

became increasingly onerous. In 1390 he was permitted to return to England in the hope of improving his health, but died on 29 August.

Character

O'Flanagan praises him as a wise and learned judge and overall a man of great ability. However, the Aquitaine lawsuit suggests that he was not popular, and as Archbishop he showed a harsher side to his character by expelling beggars from his diocese.