John Alan

Sir John Alan (also spelled Alen; c. 1500 – 1561)was a leadingEnglish-born statesman in sixteenth century Ireland. He was a member of the Irish House of Commons, and held the offices of Master of the Rolls in Ireland, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland and Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Though he was childless himself,one of his brothers, William,founded a prominent landowning dynasty in County Kildare.The family's holdings included the manor of Kilteel, as well assubstantiallands in County Dublin. They alsoacquired a baronetcy.

He was born at Coltishall in Norfolk, son of Thomas Alen. The Alens were a numerous family and five of his brothers, of whom we know most about William and Thomas,alsosettled in Ireland. John Alen, Archbishop of Dublin, who was murdered in the Silken Thomas rebellion of 1534, was a close relative,probablya first cousin,of the Lord Chancellor.

Alen studied law at Gray's Inn,andthen entered the service of Cardinal Wolsey who sent him to Ireland in 1528 to promote the Cardinal's authority as legate and to act as secretary to Alen'scousin the Archbishop, with whom Wolsey had quarrelled. Neither Wolsey's downfall nor the retirement of the Archbishop from the Lord Chancellorship harmed Alen's career: he became clerk to the Irish Parliament, Chancellor of the Exchequer of Ireland (an office which he held for life) and in 1533 Master of the Rolls in Ireland. The latter office at that time was largelyadministrative rather than judicial in nature: to be a qualified lawyer, like Alen himself,was adesirable but not essentialrequirement for theoffice, and at least two sixteenth-century Masters lacked any legal qualifications.

In 1533 Alen and Sir Gerald Aylmer, the future Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, with whom Alen was always closely associated, presented a petition to the Crown about the misgovernment of Ireland by Gerald FitzGerald, 9th Earl of Kildare and his son Silken Thomas. Just before the outbreak of Silken Thomas's Rebellion in 1534, Alen and his brothers sent an urgent letter to London urging Thomas's arrest. The murder of their cousin Archbishop Alen was the most notorious act of the rebellion, but neither John Alen nor his brothers seem to have suffered any harm. Though by his own admission John was "not a soldier" he played some part in suppressing the rebellion.

In 1539 Alen was appointed head of the Commission for the Dissolution of the Monasteries in Ireland,with instructions to receive voluntary resignations and surrenders and provide for the payment of pensions to those who willingly left the religious life, but to "apprehend and punish" all those who maintained the Papal authority. Alen had already received his reward: St. Wolstan's Priory, near Celbridge, County Kildare, had been suppressed in 1536 and granted to Alen. The estateincluded Donaghcumper Church and its lands. The Alen familyremained at St. Wolstan's for two centuries. He was also granted the lands of present-day Palmerstown in County Dublin: in his will he left these lands to his widow for her life, after which it was to pass to the children of his brother William.

His brother Thomas, who had been appointed joint Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper,received the former property of the Order of St John of Jerusalem at Kilteel; this may have been at John's request, or at the request of the last Prior of the Order, Sir John Rawson, later Viscount Clontarf, whose natural daughter Mary married Thomas. Thomasand Mary had at least one daughter, Eleanor, who married Robert Dillon, Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas. Kilteel also remained in the Alen family for centuries: the Castle,which is an excellent example of a medieval tower house, survives today.

In 1538, on the death of John Barnewall, 3rd Baron Trimlestown, Alen became Lord Keeperof the Great Seal of Ireland, and subsequently Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Even his enemies acknowledged that he was a hard-working and conscientious judge. However he quarrelled with the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir Anthony St. Leger, who wrote to London complaining of Alen's conduct. Alen was summoned before the English Privy Council and accused of corruption, as well asthe.rather vague charge of "promoting discord".Alen strongly defended himself, saying he was the "cleanest-handed Chancellor in the memory of man"; but the charges were upheld and he was removed from office. Whether he was guilty of corruption or simply the victim of St. Leger's enmity it is difficult to say. Alen was accused by Walter Cowley, the Principal Solicitor for Ireland, who until then had beengenerally regarded as Alen'spuppet,of inducing Cowley to write the so-called"Gowran letter"in whichSt. Leger was accused of deliberately endangering the life of James Butler, 9th Earl of Ormond: Cowley certainly wrote the letter but whether Alenhad any part in it is unclear. He was deprived of his pension; yet a year later the Council ordered the restoration of all his property.

In 1548 Alen regained theLord Chancellorship; but on St. Leger's return to power in 1550 he felt it best to retire, despite assurances of the King's continuedgoodwill. Given the enmity between them, O'Flanagan regarded Alen's magnanimous conduct towards St. Leger on one crucial occasionas praiseworthy. WhenArchbishop Browne charged St. Leger withhaving spoken treasonablewords, he gave Alen as his source. Alen however refused to repeat St. Leger's words on the grounds that they had been spoken in confidence.

In 1553 on the death of Edward VI his sister Mary I reappointed Alen to the Privy Council of Ireland. Her letter to the Council is a tribute to the high regard in which he was held by the Crown: it praises him for his "trusty functions" under Henry VIII and Edward, and his "long experience and travail in public affairs". On a more personal note, the letterrefers to his age and infirmity and urges that he not be required to undertake any long journeys. Despite the reference to his age and infirmity, Ball notes that he was elected to the Irish House of Commons as member for Kinsale in 1560. Given the distance between Kinsale and his home, and theappalling condition of the Irishroadsat the time,we may infer that he wasan absentee MP.

Alen died at his home atSt. Wolstan's in 1561 and was buried at DonaghcumperChurch; a memorial was erected to him and an Alen family vault was later added. Donaghcumper Churchis now a ruin.By his last willhe left much of hisproperty to his widow for her life, and after her death to his nephew John (died 1616), who was most likely the son of his brother William.John, who also inherited Kilteel Castle fromhis uncle Thomas Alen,was the grandfather of Sir Thomas Alen, 1st Baronet,whowas created a baronet in 1621 in recognition of the services to the Crown of his relativeArchbishop Alen.

Alen was closely associated with the foundation of the King's Inns in 1541. Although it was Patrick Barnewall, afuture Master of the Rolls, who first wrote to Thomas Cromwell in 1538 urging that the former religious house atBlackfriars (near present-day Henrietta Street in Dublin city centre) shouldbecome a "House of Chancery", the lease for 21 years granted by Henry VIII in 1541 has Alen at the head of the list of lessees; and in 1542 his name is on the petition to the King urging the grant of the property to the lessees in perpetuity.

O'Flanagan praises Alenas an honest and honourable man, notes the high opinion of him held by three successive English monarchs and remarks that he was capable of magnanimous behaviour even to bitter political opponents like St Leger. Elrington Ball admits his good qualities, but adds that he was quarrelsome and undiplomatic, and under some suspicion of corruption.