Richard Newman ( - 1695), of
Fifehead Magdalen,
Dorset, was an important member of the ancient Newman family of Wessex, a barrister, High Steward of Westminster, Lord of Fifehead-Magdalen and Evercreech. He was also a Colonel in the Royalist forces during the
English Civil War.
Background
Richard Newman was born at
Fifehead Magdalen,
Dorset, the son of Richard Newman and Elizabeth née Perry. He was educated at
Sherborne, to which he later donated "two gloabes",
Pembroke College, Oxford
Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...
and
Middle Temple.
English Civil War
Newman was appointed
High Steward of Westminster and joined the Royalist forces during the
English Civil War with the rank of Colonel. He lent money in support of Charles I, and in 1651 assisted the young
King Charles II escape after the
Battle of Worcester, where Charles's largely Scottish army was defeated at the hands of
Oliver Cromwell's
New Model Army
The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Th ...
. According to contemporary sources, the king escaped through the gate of the city of Worcester solely through the heroic efforts of Colonel Newman.
Newman was imprisoned for his efforts in supporting the king, though it is not known where or when. At the
Restoration in 1660
Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to:
* Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage
** Audio restoration
** Film restoration
** Image restoration
** Textile restoration
*Restoration ecology
...
, Charles II rewarded Newman with an augmentation to his coat of arms, in the form of an escutcheon gules (red shield) and a crowned portcullis or (gold coloured portcullis surmounted by a crown), and a large sum of money, which is likely to have been a reimbursement of funds loaned to Charles I.
Family life
He inherited the Fifehead-Magdalen manor from his father The Baron of Castle Cary, Richard Newman, although being the youngest of two brothers.
He married Anne, the daughter of
Sir Charles Harbord,
Surveyor General
A surveyor general is an official responsible for government surveying in a specific country or territory. Historically, this would often have been a military appointment, but it is now more likely to be a civilian post.
The following surveyor ge ...
to
Charles I, and Maria née van Aelst, and had four sons, the eldest of whom, Richard Newman, who succeeded him at Fifehead Magdalen, and three daughters including Elizabeth who married Sir William Honeywood.
[John Burke and Bernard Burke, A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies, 1841]
He retained the family's home in Fifehead, where in 1693 he was responsible for building the Newman chapel on the north side of the church to cover the vault containing the remains of his ancestors, where his own remains were interred on 16 October 1695.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Richard
1620s births
1695 deaths
Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford
People educated at Sherborne School
Military personnel from Dorset
English barristers