Henry Draycott

Draycott quickly became a person of considerable influence in the Irish administration and was appointed Chief Remembrancer, a senior position in the Court of Exchequer: his task was to prepare the files for the judges to read.

[4] He was entrusted with a number of political missions to England, and was later a reliable supporter of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir Henry Sidney.

The Barons of the Exchequer had originally been tax collectors rather than judges, and while they were now professional lawyers, the revenue gathering part of their work remained crucial until the 1660s at least.

[6] Another objection to his appointment to high office was his chronic ill-health: in 1567 his friend Sir Henry Sidney, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, described him as "a very sick and a weak man".

[1] Surprisingly, when his successor as Baron, Richard Edwarde, retired in 1570, Draycott, despite his increasing infirmity, resumed his old seat on the Exchequer.

Despite his apparent lack of legal qualifications, Draycott has been praised as a judge who was noted for integrity, and as a man whose service to the Crown deserved commendation.

Queen Elizabeth I had a personal regard for Draycott, and on his death wrote that she was sorry to have lost one whom she esteemed as a good and faithful servant, but trusted that he had exchanged this world for a better one.

Henry's daughter Alice died in mysterious circumstances after falling ill at a banquet in Dublin Castle in September 1576.