Anthony Upton (judge)
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Anthony Upton (1656–1718) was an English-born judge, much of whose career was spent in Ireland. He was a close friend of the poet William King, who lived for a time at Mountown, Upton's country house near Dublin. Upton was accused by his critics of neglecting his official duties, but he showed a notably enlightened attitude at the Islandmagee witch trial of 1711, where he urged the jury, without success, to acquit the accused women. He was removed from the Bench in 1714, on account of his political affiliation, and returned to England, where he committed suicide for unknown reasons in 1718.[1]
He was born at Monken Hadley in Middlesex (now a suburb of north London). He was the son of John Upton (d.1689) of Hadley and later of Stoke Newington, Middlesex, by his wife Jane daughter of Sir John Lytcott of Molesey, Surrey.[2][3] He was educated at Oxford, first at Trinity College and then at All Souls College, from which he graduated in 1674. He entered Lincoln's Inn and was called to the Bar in 1683.[4]
Friendship with William King
He was appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) in 1702.[5] He acquired a comfortable house at Mountown, previously the family home of the noted writer Sir Richard Steele, near present-day Monkstown, Dublin. He was accused by his political opponents of spending most of his time at Mountown, to the neglect of his office, in the company of his friend, the poet William King. King wrote one of his best-known poems, Mully of Mountown (a mock ode to a red cow) while staying with Upton.[6] They shared a taste for poetry and a keen enjoyment of country life. Since King was also a Crown official, who held several senior positions including Judge Advocate and Commissioner for Prizes, there may be some justice in the criticism that they were both neglecting their official duties.[7] It was said that the pair 'thought of nothing but spending their last years in their rural retreat"; but in the event, King returned to England in 1708 and died there in 1712.[8]
Upton, to do him justice, was not alone in neglecting his official duties: his colleague Sir Gilbert Dolben, 1st Baronet, despite his position on the Irish Court of Common Pleas, refused to vacate his seat in the House of Commons of England and spent part of every year in England.[6]