Robert Napier

Sir Robert Napier (c.1542-1615), was an English-born judge who served in Ireland. He was later to become a long-serving member of Parliament. Biography Napier was born at Swyre in Dorset, a younger son of James Napier of Puncknowle, a member of an old Scottish family, the Napiers of Merchiston Castle, Edinburgh, a branch of which had settled in Dorset. His mother was Anne Hillary or Hilliard, widow of Thomas Elyatt. His precise date of birth is uncertain: in his last will and testament dated 1614, he describes himself as being "about 72", suggesting 1542 as the most likely date. Robert always spelt his name Napper, as opposed to the more fashionable Napier. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford, Fellow 1559, Bachelor of Arts 1562. He entered the Middle Temple in 1566, and was fined for failing to act as reader in 1588. Judge In 1593, he was knighted and sent to Ireland as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer, against his own wish, as he considered it impossible for an honest man to live on the salary. Both senior and junior branches of the Napier family were inclined to the Roman Catholic faith, as were the families of both Robert's wives, the Warhams and the Dentons, but Robert was clearly never suspected of recusancy; his last will made provision for his burial, but contained no overt statement of his religious beliefs. As a judge, Napier was universally agreed to be a failure, although the Crown initially commended him for his "good services". While some (though by no means all) other English judges found the damp Irish climate a burden which seriously affected their health, most of them made the effort to perform their duties conscientiously enough. Napier on the other hand sent back to England a stream of complaints about his poor health and inadequate salary.