Bagot (Bagod), Robert (d. 1298), knight and chief justice of the common bench, Dublin, was probably (according to Ball) son of Ralph Bagot of Co. Dublin; however, he may have been related to William Bagot, sheriff of Warwick and Bedford, a justice who rose to prominence during the reign of Henry III, and a strident royalist during the barons' war. Robert first features prominently in the records from 21 October 1274, when he was appointed chief justice of the common bench, Dublin, though c.1268 he was granted the valuable manor of Dundrum, Co. Dublin, by the bishop of Meath. In June 1275 he was temporarily removed after unspecified allegations levelled against him by the citizens of Limerick, concerning his earlier conduct as sheriff of the county and constable of the castle.
He did not remain long out of favour, however; from Michelmas that year he became a regular member of the king's Irish council and on 13 November he was fully reinstated as chief justice, a post he was to retain for over twenty years. In 1280 he was pardoned any transgressions he may have committed in Limerick and was rewarded with 200 marks by the king for his faithful service. He was regularly chosen to audit the treasurers' accounts, and from May to October 1285 acted as deputy treasurer when Stephen de Fulbourn was in England. Not surprisingly, he was often appointed to important judicial commissions, including the inquiry established to examine the mass of charges brought against the justiciar William de Vescy (qv) in the Westminster parliament of 1293. In April 1294 he was summoned to England to appear before the king in parliament with the results of his investigations. His last payment as chief justice was made in Michaelmas 1298, when he retired, probably due to ill-health; he died before the end of the year.
He is traditionally viewed as the founder of the Carmelite friary in Dublin c.1274, a claim he proudly asserts in one of his charters. He established the order in the southern suburbs of the city after their initial attempt to set it up was thwarted by objections from the citizens. He also granted lands in his estate of Bagotrath to the convent of St Mary de Hogges.
He had at least two sons. His eldest son, Robert Bagot (II) (fl.
Knighted before 1304, in 1306 he was commissioned as a collector of the fifteenth in Dublin, and on 24 June 1307 he was appointed a justice of the common bench, Dublin. He became a bailiff of Dublin in 1308 and was active during the Bruce invasions, serving against the Scots in Leinster (1315), where he lost a horse on campaign. He was sergeant of Limerick in 1317 and the same year briefly appeared as a justice of the justiciar's bench and an adviser to the lieutenant, Roger Mortimer (qv). Two years later he was a juror on the important inquisition relating to claims of impoverishment by the citizens of Dublin due to war. On 27 September 1324 he was replaced as justice by the new justiciar, John Darcy (qv), as part of his clean sweep of the judiciary; his removal was probably also connected with his brief association with Mortimer. He died after 1329.
He had six sons with his wife, Avicia, of whom two, Thomas and Hervey, served as barons of the Irish exchequer and justices of the common bench, Dublin.