John Wainwright

John Wainwright (1689-1741) was an English-born barrister who became a much-loved judge in Ireland: he was celebrated for his charm and classical learning as well as his legal ability.

He was born in Chester, elder son of Thomas Wainwright (died 1720), Chancellor of the Diocese of Chester, and his wife Rebecca Jackson: they married in 1686. His grandfather John Wainwright (died 1686) had also been Chancellor of Chester, and John erected a memorial to his father and grandfather in Chester Cathedral. He seems to have had some interest in ecclesiastical law, and possessed a casebook of Ecclesiastical Court cases, which still exists.

He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, where he gained a reputation for outstanding scholarship.

The third Baron, despite his junior rank, held a surprisingly lucrative position as he received fees for the swearing of affidavits, and Wainwright, after his long struggle to make a living at the English bar, guarded his perquisites jealously, fighting any suggestion that he be promoted to a more senior but less well-remunerated office. Even when the Government, which wished to find a seat on the Bench for the Solicitor General for Ireland, put pressure on him to accept promotion, he firmly resisted. Lord Jocelyn a few weeks earlier had written that his death "would be a great loss to me on account of our particular friendship", and also to the public, as he had the ability to be an outstanding judge, and was still just over fifty years old.