Charles Calthorpe

Sir Charles Calthorpe (c.1540–1616 ) was an English-born Crown official and judge in Jacobean Ireland. Prior to his appointment to the Irish High Court Bench he had been Attorney General for Ireland for more than 20 years. He was a close political associate of the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot, and Perrot's downfall damaged his career, but he was eventually restored to Royal favour.

He belonged to an old Norfolk family; his father was Francis Calthorpe of Hempstead and his mother was Elizabeth Berney of Gunton. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1560. He gave readings on the law of copyhold at Furnivall's Inn, which were published in 1562. He was called to the bar in 1569 and became a Bencher of his Inn in 1582. He sat in the House of Commons as member for Eye in the Parliament of 1572.

In 1584 he was appointed Attorney General for Ireland and became a staunch supporter of the Lord Deputy, Sir John Perrot. From the outset of his career in Ireland Calthorpe was subject to intense criticism from his political opponent, who accused him of partisanship, insufficient legal learning and undue deference to his Irish colleagues. These attacks mounted after Perrot's recall in 1588, but Calthorpe managed to retain office, possibly due to the perennial difficulty in finding a suitable replacement as Attorney General.

Calthorpe married firstly Winifred Toto, daughter of the celebrated Italian-born painter Anthony Toto, who was Serjeant Painter to Henry VIII and Edward VI. She died in 1605. He married secondly Dorothy Deane, who had been twice married already; she outlived him by a few months. He had no children by either marriage.

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