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Sir Richard Pyne (1644 – December 1709) was an Irish landowner, barrister and judge. He held office as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland from 1695-1709.Ball, F. Elrington "The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921" London John Murray 1926 pp.59-69
Nicholas was the eldest son of the English-born settler Henry Pyne (or Pine) of Mogeely (Mogylie). Henry, who is thought to have belonged to a junior branch of the prominent Pyne family of Upton Pyne, Devon, had received a substantial lease of lands in County Cork c.1589, and built Mogeely Castle (which no longer stands, although some remains survive). During the serious disturbances in Munster in 1598, he saved himself by a headlong flight back to England, but was later accused of secretly helping the Irish rebels, although there is no evidence for this. In fairness to Henry, he was only one of many settlers in Munster who fled ignominiously to safety. Calendar of State Papers of Ireland 1598-99 pp.319-326 Henry returned to Ireland in about 1601 and prospered, despite quarrelling with other settlers, notably Sir Walter Raleigh, from whom he rented his lands, and the formidable Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, who acquired Raleigh's interest; there was also much gossip about his unscrupulous business practices.Twomey, Michael "Irish Heart, English Blood - the Making of Youghal" The History Press 2014 He died sometime after 1620. His wife was a Miss Stronge from Dunkitt, County Kilkenny.Clavin, Terry "Henry Pine" Cambridge Dictionary of Irish Biography
Pyne was promoted to the office of Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench for Ireland in 1695. He held the latter office until his death, although he seems to have been in failing health in his last years, and frequently visited Bath in the hope of a cure.
The memoirist and poet Elizabeth Freke (who was English-born, but married a Freke cousin from County Cork and settled there) in her Diary noted his presiding at the Cork assizes in 1694, where he condemned 28 men to be hanged or human branding in the hand (the latter was a frequent penalty for serious but non-capital crimes). Elizabeth made a personal plea for clemency in one case where she believed the condemned man was guilty of manslaughter, not murder.Anselment, Raymond A. "The Remembrances of Elizabeth Freke" Cambridge University Press 2001 p.62 Pyne presided at the trial for embezzlement of Colonel James Waller, Lieutenant-Governor of Kinsale, in 1697. Collection of Historical Records held by the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich As Chief Justice he clashed with the powerful cleric William King, Bishop of Derry and future Archbishop of Dublin, who accused him of interfering in Church affairs.Osborough, W. N. Mysteries and Solutions in Irish Legal History Four Courts Press 2001 He is listed as one of the trustees of the King's Inns in 1706.Kenny, Colum King's Inns and the Kingdom of Ireland Irish Academic Press Dublin 1992 He was awarded the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1707. He died at his English estate at Ashley in Surrey in December 1709.
Pyne also left substantial lands, including Ballyvolane, to his nephew Robert Wakeham, the son of his sister Jane. Jane had married a cousin, son of her aunt Catherine Pyne, who married Richard Wakeham. As a condition of inheriting these lands laid down in his uncle's will, Robert added the surname Pyne to his original name; the Wykeham Pynes remained at Ballyvolane for several generations. Robert was dead by 1715, when his widow Margaret filed a lawsuit in the Court of Chancery. Pyne v. Pyne alias Wakeham National Archives C 11/9/12
A portrait of Pyne in his judicial robes by William Gandy still exists.
Property
Pyne was a substantial landowner in County Cork: he lived mainly at Waterpark, near Carrigaline, and also acquired estates at Ardra and Ballinaneala. In 1703 he bought Blarney Castle, but sold it a few months later, apparently on the basis of a rumour (unfounded as it turned out) that the dispossessed owners, the MacCarthys, were about to recover it. He also owned an estate at Ashley, near Guildford, Surrey, where he died, and Great Codham Hall near Braintree, Essex. He is chiefly remembered nowadays as the builder of Ballyvolane House near Fermoy, although it was not completed until a considerable time after his death.
Family
He married Catherine Wandesford, daughter of Sir Christopher Wandsford, 1st Baronet of Kirklington, Yorkshire and Eleanor Lowther, and grand-daughter of the statesman Christopher Wandesford, Lord Deputy of Ireland and Alice Osborne. His only son Henry married Anne Edgecumbe, daughter of Sir Richard Edgecumbe and Lady Anne Montagu, and sister of Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe.Burke's Complete Peerage Their daughter Anne married Sir Henry Cavendish and was the mother of the statesman Sir Henry Cavendish, 2nd Baronet, whose descendants took the title Baron Waterpark.
Reputation
In 1698, the Irish-born author and publisher John Dunton who was on a visit to Dublin, gave a favourable picture of most of the Irish judiciary, including Pyne, describing them as "men whose reputation is such that no one complains of them".Ball p.15
Categories: Irish King's Counsel, Lawyers From County Cork, Alumni Of The Queen's College, Oxford, 1644 Births, 1709 Deaths, Members Of The Privy Council Of Ireland, Lords Chief Justice Of Ireland, Chief Justices Of The Irish Common Pleas, People From Carrigaline, 17th-century Irish Judges, 18th-century Irish Judges, People From Castlemartyr
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