Richard Davey (12 April 1799 – 24 June 1884) was one of the two MPs for the West Cornwall constituency for eleven years.''The Times'', Saturday, 21 March 1857; pg. 12; Issue 22634; col A and ''The Times'', Wednesday, 1 April 1857; pg. 5; Issue 22643; col E "The Elections". He was a

Justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

(JP) and a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

.''The Times'', Friday, 27 Jun 1884; pg. 10; Issue 31171; col E "Obituary"

His family

He was a son of William Davey (d. 1827), a solicitor of

Redruth Redruth ( , kw, Resrudh) is a town and civil parishes in Cornwall, civil parish in Cornwall, England. The population of Redruth was 14,018 at the 2011 census. In the same year the population of the Camborne-Redruth urban area, which also inc ...

and Elizabeth Martyn (born 1756), his wife. His older brother, Stephen (1785–1864) was also a JP and a Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall. There was another brother, William (died 1849), who was a solicitor. Stephen, William and Richard were "adventurers" in the development of Cornish mines, during the boom period and invested their gains in land. Mines included Wheal Buller and

East Wheal Rose East Wheal Rose was a metalliferous mine around south east of the village of St Newlyn East and is around from Newquay on the north Cornwall coast, United Kingdom. The country rock at the mine was killas and its main produce was lead ore ( ...

. In 1880 Richard Davey, Esq was described as the "Lord of the Mine" of Penhalls. The family acquired the ancient manor house and estate at

Bochym Cury ( kw, Egloskuri) is a civil parish and village in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately four miles (6 km) south of Helston on The Lizard peninsula. The parish is named for St Corentin and is reco ...

in the

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Cury Cury ( kw, Egloskuri) is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and village in southwest Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately four miles (6 km) south of Helston on The Lizard, The Lizard peninsula. The parish ...

Education

He was educated at

Blundell's School Blundell's School is a co-educational day and boarding independent school in the English public school tradition, located in Tiverton, Devon. It was founded in 1604 under the will of Peter Blundell, one of the richest men in England at the tim ...

and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

Parliamentary service

He was elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

for one of the two seats of West Cornwall at the

General Election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

of 1857, as a Whig, following the retirement of Sir

Charles Lemon Sir Charles Lemon, 2nd Baronet (3 September 1784 – 13 February 1868) was a British Member of Parliament for several constituencies and a baronet. Early life He inherited his baronetcy in 1824 upon the death of his father Sir William Lemon, 1s ...

. Along with Michael Williams, also a Whig, they were elected without opposition on 2 April 1857; John Tremayne, the Conservative candidate, having stood down. In 1859, the Whigs joined the new Liberal Party. He was re-elected for this seat until 1868.

Death

He died 1884,''The Times, Thursday, Jun 26, 1884; pg. 1; Issue 31170; col A 24 June: "Deaths" aged 85, unmarried. Despite living at Bochym for many years, he did not own it. It formerly belonged to his brother, Stephen who bequeathed it to his eldest son, Horton Davey who in turn left it to his brother Joshua Sidney Davey (1842–1909), who resided there with his uncle. Richard Davey owned land at St Agnes,

Philleigh Philleigh ( kw, Eglosros) is a civil parish and village in Cornwall, England, in the United Kingdom; one of the four in the Roseland Peninsula. Philleigh lies within the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Almost a third of Co ...

and other land in the neighbourhood of

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

. He was buried in the new family vault at St Corentine's Church, Cury; the old one being unsuitable for use. The new vault adjoinined the old one, in an angle formed by the

chancel In church architecture, the chancel is the space around the altar, including the choir and the sanctuary (sometimes called the presbytery), at the liturgical east end of a traditional Christian church building. It may terminate in an apse. Ove ...

and the Bochym aisle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davey, Richard 1799 births 1884 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Deputy Lieutenants of Cornwall People educated at Blundell's School Politicians from Cornwall Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies