John Frowyk


John Frowyk was an English-born cleric and judge in fourteenth-century Ireland.
He became Prior of the Irish chapter of the Order of Knights Hospitaller, whose house was at Kilmainham, in 1356 and in the same year was appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland; apart from a brief interval when he was replaced by Thomas de Burley, he served in both offices until 1359. O'Flanagan states that no further details of his life are recorded. D'Alton however states that as Prior he obtained a confirmation of the privileges of the Order of Hospitallers. At least one record of his tenure as Lord Chancellor survives: letters patent were issued by Edward III addressed to Frowyk and other Crown officials in December 1357, giving details of an inquiry into alleged misconduct by John de Bolton, former Treasurer of Ireland.

Frowyk family of Middlesex

It is possible that he belonged to the Frowyk family of Old Fold, Middlesex, who were prominent in the London merchant community and in local politics for two centuries. Roger de Frowyk, who built a mansion at Seething Lane, close to the Tower of London, around 1303, was a goldsmith and an English Crown official. Thomas Frowyk was Chief Justice of the Common Pleas. He was the grandson of Henry Frowyk, who was twice Lord Mayor of London.