Thomas Louth

He was notable for his long and ultimately unsuccessful struggle with Elias de Asshebournham for the office of Lord Chief Justice of Ireland.

In the same year, he was appointed a judge of the Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) but did not take up the latter office.

[1] He then began a struggle with the Dublin-born judge Elias de Asshebournham for the office; the struggle lasted for most of the decade, and each man replaced the other so often that it is difficult to determine which of them held office at any given time.

[2] There was a genuine concern on the part of the English Crown about the poor quality of Irish-born judges, so Louth as an Englishman should have had the advantage;[3] but Asshebournham, whose father had been a highly regarded royal servant, also had influence at Court.

[4] In 1337 Louth suffered what seemed to be a decisive defeat when he was imprisoned for unspecified "excesses", yet the following year he was restored to office after "laudable testimony" to his good conduct, only to be finally removed from office later the same year.