John de Burnham

John de Burnham (died 1363) was an English born judge and official who spent much of his career in Ireland, being Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. He spent many years clearing himself of charges of corruption, which seem to have been the invention of malicious colleagues.

He was a native of Norfolk, apparently born in the Burnhams.^[1] He became parish priest of Felmersham, Bedfordshire in 1333 and was named as a tax assessor for the same county in 1340.^[2] He was a member of the Royal household from the 1320s, and gained great experience in the field of finance, especially army accounts.^[3]

In 1343 he was sent to Ireland as Lord Treasurer;^[4] he also became canon of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin and a prebendary of Cloyne.^[5] His appointment was apparently connected with complaints by the Privy Council of Ireland about the efficiency of the Irish Exchequer, and doubts about the honesty of Burnham's predecessor Hugh de Burgh.^[6] It was apparently thought that Burnham, with his long experience of administering royal finances, would be a reforming Treasurer; but it is difficult to determine what if anything his reforms achieved, and his long battle to clear himself of charges of corruption can hardly have made the task of reform any easier.

In 1348 he was summoned to England to account for his record as Treasurer: the charges against him were very serious, involving accusations of fraud, negligence and concealment of royal revenue. His stay in England lasted several years, requiring him to appoint attorneys to manage his Irish affairs.^[7] The charges appear to have been the work of William de Barton,^[8] a disgruntled official of the Exchequer of Ireland with a grudge against Burnham. Barton apparently belonged to a rival faction in the Dublin administration, and played a large part in the subsequent inquiry; there is no evidence that Burnham was widely seen as corrupt.

In the end Burnham was cleared of any charge of wrongdoing. While the charges were numerous and detailed, Connolly ^[9]concludes that none of them amount to evidence of any serious wrongdoing, and that they were largely the invention of his rival William de Barton. Although Barton could not hope, given the lack of evidence, to prove the charges, he could reasonably hope that the length and complexity of the inquiry, which he himself dragged out as far as possible, would cause Burnham a great deal of time and trouble.^[10]

Having vindicated his good name, Burnham returned to Ireland as Lord Chief Baron in 1355 and remained in office until his death in 1363.^[11] He and Barton appear to have resolved their differences, and worked amicably together in the Exchequer for several years.^[12]

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