Robert Hill

Sir Robert I Hill (died before 1426), sometimes written Hull, was an English politician and judge from the West Country. Origins Born before 1350, the son of Robert Hill, a lawyer, he made his home at Shilstone in the parish of Modbury in Devon. He is often confused with another Robert Hill (died 1423), who lived at Spaxton in Somerset and was the son of Sir John Hill (died1408), a Justice of the King's Bench. Career He initially entered politics, sitting as MP in the Parliament of England for various Devon constituencies. In 1372 he represented both Dartmouth and Tavistock; then Plympton in 1373, in both Parliaments of 1377, and in 1380; and finally in 1379 Exeter. Thereafter he followed his father in a legal career, becoming one of the counsel retained by Edward Courtenay, Earl of Devon, in 1384, a member of the Inner Temple, and in 1388 a serjeant-at-law. By 1399 he was a King's Serjeant, and was called on for a so-called loan of 100 pounds to aid in the King's wars against the Welsh and the Scots. In 1408 he was created a Justice of the Common Pleas, remaining in post for the rest of his life. Though he acted as chief justice following the death of Edward Norton, he was never formally appointed.