 Kenyon's appointment was initially greeted with caution by his fellow barristers, who worried that, as he had practised in a court of equity rather than a court of common law, he might be unfamiliar with the area covered by his new posting in the Court of King's Bench. Despite this, he was noted as an excellent judge, although one who suffered from an "excess of zeal" in moral issues. One of his flaws was his defective education; he was too proud to avoid exhibiting his ignorance. He was particularly noted for using Latin incorrectly, leading George III to say "My Lord ... it would be well if you would stick to your good law and leave off your bad Latin". As a judge, Kenyon over-ruled the principles that a court of law could not consider trusts or a pecuniary legacy; it was said that he "restored the simplicity and rigor of the common law". After nearly one and a half decades as a judge, Kenyon died on 4 April 1802 in Bath.
