Edward Bagshawe of Finglas


Sir Edward Bagshawe of Finglas, County Dublin, was knighted in 1627, reappointed a comptroller of customs in 1629 and was a member of parliament for the borough of Banagher in Strafford's parliament of 1634. During the Commonwealth he was a commissioner of the revenue.

Biography

Little is known of Edward Bagshawe until 1624, when he appears as customer of the ports of Dublin, Skerries, Malahide, and Wicklow, but his services to the government must have been considerable, as in 1627 he received knighthood and was given a grant of lands, afterwards known as the manor of Castle Bagshawe, Belturbet in county Cavan.
At this time the government of Ireland farmed out the collection of customs duties to a consortium. That is the English consortium paid the government a fixed amount of money for the right to collect the customs duties and to keep the profits. The government benefited because it was guaranteed money while the consortium, if their methods of collection were efficient, could profit from the agreement. The previous agreement was due to come to an end in 1629, so Sir Edward, who was the comptroller of the customs in Dublin, went to England in March 1629 to confer with the executors of the Duke of Buckingham's estate to see if the arrangement was to be renewed. It was and between 1629 and 1631 the Duchess of Buckingham paid £6,000 for the farm and kept half the profits that accrued by the arrangement. The rest went to the consortium who managed the farm. In September that year Sir Edward was reappointed and made joint comptroller of the customs in Dublin with Philip Perceval.
According to his own account he tried to reform as customer a state of things in which everyone did as seemed right in their own eyes, and found that the more honest and faithful he became the less he was trusted, until finally he was so misjudged as to be committed to Dublin Castle. He emerged from there with less zeal and more discretion to become in Strafford's parliament member for the borough of Banagher, and under the Commonwealth, a commissioner of the revenue. He died 6 October 1657.

Family

Sir Edward had at least two daughters: