Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Baron Edgcumbe PC (2 August 1716 – 10 May 1761) was a British nobleman and politician.

Biography

The eldest surviving son of

Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe, (23 April 168022 November 1758) of Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall, was an English Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1701 until 1742 when he was raised to the peerage ...

and his wife Matilda Furnese, he was educated at Eton from 1725 to 1732. Through his father's interest in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, he was returned as Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle at a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

in 1742 as a Government supporter. Edgcumbe was a heavy gambler, losing "daily twenty guineas" at

White's White's is a gentlemen's club in St James's, London. Founded in 1693 as a hot chocolate shop in Mayfair, it is London's oldest club and therefore the oldest private members' club in the world. It moved to its current premises on St James's St ...

. He was given a secret service pension of £500 a year by

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who serv ...

to provide for him. Meanwhile, he was made a capital burgess of

Lostwithiel Lostwithiel (; ) is a civil parish and small town in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom at the head of the estuary of the River Fowey. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,739, increasing to 2,899 at the 2011 census. The Lostwi ...

in 1743 and served as mayor the next year. He switched his seat to

in 1747. Dissatisfied with subsisting on Government charity, he unsuccessfully made an application to Pelham for employment, rather than a pension, in 1752. He was eventually made a Lord of Trade in 1754, when he was returned for Penryn and the next year, a Lord of the Admiralty instead, serving for a year. In 1756, he was appointed Comptroller of the Household and was again mayor of Lostwithiel, being appointed to the Privy Council on 19 November. Succeeding his father in 1758, he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Since 1742, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall. Lord Lieutenants * John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1554 * John Bourchier, 2nd ...

in 1759 and recorder of Plympton Erle. He died childless in 1761 and was succeeded by his brother.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgcumbe, Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Baron 1716 births 1761 deaths Barons Edgcumbe British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Lord-lieutenants of Cornwall Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plympton Erle Whig (British political party) MPs Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall People educated at Eton College Younger sons of barons