John le Hunt

John le Hunt, or Hunter (died after 1351) was an English born judge who served briefly as Lord Chief Justice of Ireland. He was the ancestor of the prominent Longueville family of Wolverton (which is now part of Milton Keynes).^[1]

He was born in Buckinghamshire, son of Nicholas le Hunt of Fenny Stratford.^[2] He accompanied the Justiciar of Ireland, Ralph d'Ufford, to Ireland in 1344 and became a justice of the Court of King's Bench (Ireland).^[3] The following year he became Lord Chief Justice of Ireland, but served for only a year, and returned to England soon afterwards.^[4]

St. Martin's Church, Fenny Stratford- John le Hunt was born in the village.

He married Margaret (or Margery) de Wolverton, daughter and co-heiress of Sir John de Wolverton of Wolverton.^[5] They had one daughter, Joan, who married John Longueville of Billing, Northamptonshire.^[6] Le Hunt was still alive in 1351 when, on the death of her brother Ralph, Margaret and her sister Joan inherited the Wolverton estates; these passed to John and Margaret's daughter Joan, and thus into the Longueville family, who remained at Wolverton until 1712.^[7]

After Hunt's death his widow remarried three times: firstly to Roger de Louth, then Richard Imworth, and finally John Howes; but she is not known to have had any further children by her later marriages.

References

1. Samuel Lysons and Daniel Lysons Magna Britannia
2. Francis Elrington Ball The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921 John Murray London 1926 Vol. 1 p.78
3. Ball p.78
4. Ball p.78
5. Ball p.78
6. George Baker History of Northamptonshire Vol. II 1826 p.241
7. Baker p.241