Sir Richard Edgcumbe (alias ''Edgecombe'', etc.) (ca. 14438 September 1489) of
Cotehele
Cotehele ( kw, Kosheyl) is a medieval house with Tudor additions, situated in the parish of Calstock in the east of Cornwall, England, and now belonging to the National Trust. It is a rambling granite and slate-stone manor house on the banks ...
in the parish of
Calstock
Calstock ( kw, Kalstok) is a civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar south west of Tavistock and north of Plymouth.
The parish had ...
in
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 ...
, was an English courtier and
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
.
Origins
He was the son and heir of Piers Edgcumbe of
Cotehele
Cotehele ( kw, Kosheyl) is a medieval house with Tudor additions, situated in the parish of Calstock in the east of Cornwall, England, and now belonging to the National Trust. It is a rambling granite and slate-stone manor house on the banks ...
by his wife Elizabeth Holland, daughter and heiress of Richard Holland. The family is earliest recorded in 1292 when Richard Edgcombe was seated at the manor of ''Edgcombe'' in the parish of
Milton Abbot
Milton Abbot is a village, parish, and former manor in Devon, north-west of Tavistock, Devon, and south-east of Launceston, Cornwall.
History
The manor of Middeltone was donated at some time before the Norman Conquest of 1066 (according to the ...
in Devon, from which his family took their surname. His grandson William Edgcombe (d.1380) married the heiress of Cothele, to which manor he moved his residence.
Career
He was a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for
Tavistock
Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of 13,028 ...
in Devon, from 1467 to 1468. He was a
Lancastrian and had his lands confiscated in 1471 by the
Yorkist
The House of York was a cadet branch of the English royal House of Plantagenet. Three of its members became kings of England in the late 15th century. The House of York descended in the male line from Edmund of Langley, 1st Duke of York, t ...
King
Edward IV
Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...
, although these were returned to him the next year.
Angered by
Richard of Gloucester
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Bat ...
’s usurpation of the throne in 1483 and the rumours of the murder of
Edward V
Edward V (2 November 1470 – mid-1483)R. F. Walker, "Princes in the Tower", in S. H. Steinberg et al, ''A New Dictionary of British History'', St. Martin's Press, New York, 1963, p. 286. was ''de jure'' King of England and Lord of Ireland fro ...
and his brother in the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
, Edgcumbe joined the rebellion led by
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, KG (4 September 1455 – 2 November 1483) was an English nobleman known as the namesake of Buckingham's rebellion, a failed but significant collection of uprisings in England and parts of Wales agains ...
to dethrone the Yorkist
Richard III
Richard III (2 October 145222 August 1485) was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the House of York and the last of the Plantagenet dynasty. His defeat and death at the Battl ...
and replace him with the Lancastrian
Henry Tudor. When the rebellion collapsed and Henry's ships fled, Edgcumbe's arrest was ordered and a troop of soldiers commanded by the notoriously brutal Sir Henry Trenowth of Bodrugan were sent to arrest him. He hid on the wooded hillside of his
Tamar-side home,
Cotehele
Cotehele ( kw, Kosheyl) is a medieval house with Tudor additions, situated in the parish of Calstock in the east of Cornwall, England, and now belonging to the National Trust. It is a rambling granite and slate-stone manor house on the banks ...
, and when his hiding place was discovered, threw his pursuers off the scent by filling his cap with stones and throwing it into the river, fooling his pursuers into thinking he had drowned and thus escaping certain death. After his escape, he fled to
Brittany
Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...
and joined Henry Tudor with whom he returned to England in 1485. He was knighted later that year after the
Battle of Bosworth
The Battle of Bosworth or Bosworth Field was the last significant battle of the Wars of the Roses, the civil war between the houses of Lancaster and York that extended across England in the latter half of the 15th century. Fought on 22 Augu ...
, where Henry Tudor and the Lancastrians were victorious.
He held important offices in the new reign: an MP for Tavistock once again in 1485,
Privy Councillor
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
,
Comptroller of the Royal Household
The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...
,
Sheriff of Devon
The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
in 1487 and Ambassador to
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
.
In Ireland
He carried out a number of important assignments for the new King. In 1488, following the crushing of the
Lambert Simnel
Lambert Simnel (c. 1477 – after 1534) was a pretender to the throne of England. In 1487, his claim to be Edward Plantagenet, 17th Earl of Warwick, threatened the newly established reign of Henry VII (1485–1509). Simnel became the f ...
rebellion at the
Battle of Stoke Field
The Battle of Stoke Field on 16 June 1487 may be considered the last battle of the Wars of the Roses, since it was the last major engagement between contenders for the throne whose claims derived from descent from the houses of Lancaster and Yo ...
, he was tasked with administering the oaths of allegiance in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
to the
Anglo-Irish
Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the establis ...
nobles who had supported Simnel's claim to the throne, assisted by
John Payne,
Bishop of Meath
The Bishop of Meath is an episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient Kingdom of Meath. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains as a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.
History
Unti ...
, a former rebel who had been among the first to submit.
He showed his shrewd political judgment in accepting the assurances of loyalty given by
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare
Gerald FitzGerald, 8th Earl of Kildare KG (born – ), known variously as "Garret the Great" (Gearóid Mór) or "The Great Earl" (An tIarla Mór), was Ireland's premier peer. He served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1477 to 1494, and from 149 ...
, the most powerful of the Anglo-Irish magnates, whose influence made him an indispensable ally of the Crown; at the same time he showed his independence by refusing, against Kildare's urging, to pardon some of the more notorious rebels, notably Sir
James Keating, the Prior of
Kilmainham
Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum.
History
In th ...
.
He took care to be approachable: having administered the oath of fealty to Thomas Cusack, the
Recorder of Dublin
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
, he dined with him "with great cheer".
Death and burial
During his last mission, a diplomatic one to negotiate a truce with
Anne, Duchess of Brittany
Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...
, he died at
Morlaix
Morlaix (; br, Montroulez) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in northwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Leisure and tourism
The old quarter of the town has winding streets of cobbled stones and overhan ...
on 8 September 1489 and was buried there. His tomb was destroyed during the
French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
.
Marriage and issue
He married Joan Tremayne, a daughter of Thomas Tremayne (d.1482) of
Collacombe
Collacombe is an historic manor in the parish of Lamerton, Devon, England. The manor house survives as a grade I listed building, known as Collacombe Barton or Collacombe Manor (House).
Descent d'Aumale
The Domesday Book of 1086 lists ''COLECOM ...
in the parish of
Lamerton
Lamerton is a village and civil parish located 3 miles north-west of the town of Tavistock in Devon, England. The village's school is called Lamerton Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School; affiliated with the Church of England, it ...
,
Devon
Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devon is ...
, by his wife Elizabeth Carew, a daughter of Thomas Carew (d.1471) of
Mohuns Ottery
Mohuns Ottery or Mohun's Ottery ( "moon's awtrey"),Gover, J.E.B., Mawer, A. & Stenton, F.M. (1931). ''The Place-Names of Devon''. English Place-Name Society. Vol viii. Part II. Cambridge University Press. p.642 is a house and historic manor in ...
in Devon, by whom he had one son and four daughters:
*
Sir Piers Edgcumbe (1468/9-1539), son and heir, whose son Sir Richard Edgcumbe (d.1562) built
Mount Edgcumbe House
Mount Edgcumbe House is a stately home in south-east Cornwall and is a Grade II listed building, whilst its gardens and parkland are listed as Grade I in the Register of Parks and Gardens of Special Historic Interest in England.
Mount Edgcumbe ...
in Cornwall and moved there from Cothele. His descendant was
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 as ...
(1680–1758), whose second son was
George Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe (1720-1795). The earldom survives today, in a direct male line.
*Agnes Edgcumbe, who married William Trevanion of
Caerhays in Cornwall;
*Margaret Edgcumbe, who married firstly Sir William St Maur, secondly Sir
William Courtenay
William Courtenay ( 134231 July 1396) was Archbishop of Canterbury (1381–1396), having previously been Bishop of Hereford and Bishop of London.
Early life and education
Courtenay was a younger son of Hugh de Courtenay, 10th Earl of Devon ( ...
(d.1535) "The Great" of
Powderham Castle
Powderham Castle is a fortified manor house situated within the parish and former manor of Powderham, within the former hundred of Exminster, Devon, about south of the city of Exeter and mile (0.4 km) north-east of the village of ...
in Devon;
*Elizabeth Edgcumbe, who married Wymond Raleigh of Devon;
*Joan Edgcumbe, who married Fulk Prideaux (1472-1531) of
Thuborough
Thuborough (alias ''Therborough, Theoburgh'', etc.) in the parish of Sutcombe, Devon, England, is an historic estate, formerly a seat of a branch of the Prideaux family, also seated at Orcharton, Modbury; Adeston, Holbeton; Soldon, Holsworthy; ...
in the parish of
Sutcombe
Sutcombe is a village and civil parish in the local government district of Torridge, Devon, England. The parish, which lies about 5.5 miles north of the town of Holsworthy, is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of West Putford, ...
in Devon. A heraldic
bench end in Sutcombe Church records the marriage.
[See :File:BenchEnd PrideauxImpalingEdgcumbe SutcombeChurch Devon.xcf]
Further reading
*
Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of Cornwall: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1530, 1573 & 1620; with additions by J.L. Vivian, Exeter, 1887, pedigree of Edgcumbe, pp. 141–
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgcumbe, Richard
1440s births
1489 deaths
English MPs 1467
High Sheriffs of Devon
Ambassadors of England to Scotland
Medieval English diplomats
Members of the Parliament of England for Tavistock
15th-century diplomats
English MPs 1485
Cotehele