John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes

Bust of John Bowes in the crypt of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, by John van Nost the younger. John Bowes, 1st Baron Bowes PC (I) (1691 – 22 July 1767) was an Anglo-Irish peer, politician and judge. He was noted for his great legal ability, but also for his implacable hostility to Roman Catholics.

Life He was born in London, the second son of Thomas Bowes, a merchant and member of the Worshipful Company of Turners, and his wife, a Miss North, and was called to the Bar in 1712. He came to Ireland as a member of the staff of Richard West, the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, in 1723. He built up a large practice at the Irish Bar and was appointed Solicitor-General for Ireland in 1730, and Attorney-General in 1739. He was raised to the Bench as Lord Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1741, having previously failed to become third Baron (which was a surprisingly lucrative office, as the Baron received several extra fees). He was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland by King George II in 1757, despite the chronic ill-health which afflicted him. In his last years, his legs were so swollen that he could scarcely walk.

Hostility to Catholics

John Bowes epitomized the severity of the 18th century Penal Laws against Irish Catholics when he ruled, in about 1759, that: "The law does not suppose any such person to exist as an Irish Roman Catholic, nor could such a person draw breath without the Crown's permission".

Death

He died in Dublin on 22 July 1767, his mental faculties fully intact despite his bodily infirmities, and was buried in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, where his brother raised a memorial to him. He also lived on the street now known as Bow Street, originally Bowes Street, and named in his honour.