Henry Wallop

Who was Henry Wallop?

Sir Henry Wallop was an English statesman.

He was the eldest son of Sir Oliver Wallop of Farleigh Wallop in Hampshire. Having inherited the estates of his father and of his uncle, Sir John Wallop, he was knighted in 1569 and was chosen member of parliament for Southampton in 1572. His connection with Ireland, began in 1579, when he was appointed vice-treasurer of that country; this position was a very thankless and difficult one, and Wallop appears to have undertaken it very unwillingly.

However, he reached Dublin and was soon immersed in the troubles caused by the rebellion of Gerald FitzGerald, 15th Earl of Desmond, finding, in his own words, it was "easier to talk at home of Irish wars than to be in them." In July 1582 he and Adam Loftus, archbishop of Dublin, were appointed Lord Justices, and they were responsible for the government of Ireland for just two years, after which they were succeeded by Sir John Perrot.

Sir Henry continued to fill the office of vice-treasurer, and at Enniscorthy, where he had secured a lease of lands, he set up a colony of Englishmen and opened up a trade with Madeira.