Thomas de Dent

Thomas de Dent, Thomas Dyvelyn, Thomas Denton, or Thomas of Dublin (died after 1361) was an English-born cleric and judge who held high office in Ireland during the reign of King Edward III, and was praised as a diligent and hard-working Crown official, who damaged his health through overwork.

He was born at Dent, then in the West Riding of Yorkshire (now in Cumbria), and may have been the son of John de Dent. During his years in Ireland he was sometimes known as Thomas Dyvelyn, which was an early form of "Thomas of Dublin", or as Thomas Denton. He was transferred to the Court of King's Bench (Ireland) in 1337. He became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland in 1341, as part of a widespread reform of the Irish judiciary,

He was appointed Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas, then often titled "Chief Justice of the Dublin Bench", Denton was ordered to examine the records and report to the Justiciar of Ireland, so that the Justiciar could take whatever action was necessary to remedy the injustice.

Denton stepped down as Chief Justice of the Pleas in 1358, due by his own account to his "infirmity". His salary, according to his own petition for payment of it, which is partly corroborated by the Close Rolls, was seriously in arrears when he retired.

He was granted a lease for the term of his life of the royal manor of Esker, near Lucan in County Dublin in 1351: Esker was often leased out to royal servants who were in high favour with the Crown; the previous tenant had been Roget Darcy, Constable of Newcastle Mackynegan (presumably the same Roger who was briefly Justiciar of Ireland). In 1355, on his own petition, Thomas was granted a special allowance of £13 for his "great and strenuous labours" in 1354-5, when he served as Chief Justice without any puisne judges to assist him, injuring his own heath thereby, and for his general diligence in the King's business.

Petition for payment of his salary

He is last heard of in 1361, when he was visiting England. He was still in the King's service at the time, but probably retired soon afterwards. He may have been in some financial distress in his last years, judging by his petition to the English Parliament asking for payment of the sums due to him, which was evidently written shortly after he left office in 1358. According to the petition he was forced to step down as Chief Justice due to ill health, and his fees were now seriously in arrears. We know from the Close Rolls that in 1347 he was paid 10 marks instead of the 40 due. He requested that the arrears be paid from the King's Treasury in England or any other suitable source.