Richard Bellings, Solicitor-General

Richard Bellings or Bellyngs (died 1584) was an Irish barrister and landowner who was Solicitor General for Ireland from 1574 to 1584. His grandson and namesake Richard Bellings was a leading figure in Confederate Ireland, which effectively governed much of Ireland in the 1640s.

He was probably born in Mulhuddart, County Dublin, a district with which his family[1] had a long association.[2] He was called to the Bar, quickly became one of its leaders, and was appointed Solicitor General in 1574. He seems to have been diligent in performing his duties, pleading regularly before the Court of Castle Chamber (the Irish Star Chamber) and sitting on several commissions of oyer and terminer.[3] Presumably as a reward for his services, the Crown made substantial grants of land to him in County Dublin, including Tyrrelstown, which became the principal family seat.[4]

Despite his record of good service to the Crown and his apparent legal ability, he never became a judge; this may reflect the personal disfavour of Queen Elizabeth I, who thought poorly of most of her Irish law officers, especially those of them like Bellings who were Irish by birth. Her remedy for the perceived "default and inefficiency of her officers of the law" in Ireland whenever a vacancy arose was to replace Irish office holders with Englishmen.[5]

Elrington Ball, normally the most reliable source of information on the pre-1921 Irish judiciary, and who also very knowledgeable about the history of Dublin generally, states that Bellings was still alive in 1600,[6] but the letters patent appointing his successor as Solicitor General, Jesse Smythes, in January 1585, state clearly that he had recently died.[7] Given the Queen's attitude to her Irish law officers it is not surprising that Smythes was English.

Little seems to be known of his marriage. Richard's son Sir Henry Bellings became Provost Marshal and High Sheriff of Kildare; despite a reputation for corruption, (including the notorious case of Philip Bushen, who was hanged in 1625 for the murder of his wife, a crime which he almost certainly did not commit),[8] and several clashes with the Crown, he had a largely successful career and extended the family estates.[9]

Henry was the father of the second Richard Bellings, the Confederate leader, and grandfather of the third Richard Bellings, secretary to Queen Catherine of Braganza.

References
  1. The family name was also spelt Bealing
  2. Ball, F. Elrington History of the Parishes of Dublin Vol. 6 University Press 1920 p.40
  3. Crawford, Jon G. A Star Chamber Court in Ireland- the Court of Castle Chamber 1571-1641 Four Courts Press Dublin 2005 pp.233-4
  4. Ball p.40
  5. Hart, A.R. History of the King's Serjeant-at-law in Ireland Four Courts Press 2000 p.42
  6. Ball p.40
  7. Smyth, Constantine Joseph Chronicle of the Law Officers of Ireland Dublin 1839 p. 174
  8. Wedgwood, C. V. Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford 1593-1641- a revaluation Phoenix Press reissue 2000 pp.142-3
  9. Ball p.40


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