Richard Fellowes Benyon (17 November 1811 – 26 July 1897), born Richard Fellowes, was a British

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician and civil servant. Richard was born at Haveringland Hall in

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, the third son of

William Henry Fellowes William Henry Fellowes (15 July 1769 – 23 August 1837), of Ramsey Abbey in Huntingdonshire and Haverland Hall in Norfolk, was a British people, British Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament. Life He was the eldest son o ...

of Ramsey Abbey in

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridgeshire and a historic county of England. The district council is based in Huntingdon. Other towns include St Ives, Godmanchester, St Neots and Ramsey. The popu ...

and his wife, Emma, sister of

Richard Benyon De Beauvoir Richard Benyon De Beauvoir (1769–1854) MP was a 19th-century British landowner, philanthropist and High Sheriff of Berkshire. Background He was born Richard Benyon in Westminster on 28 April 1769, one of four sons and five daughters of Richar ...

Englefield House Englefield House is an Elizabethan country house with surrounding estate at Englefield in the English county of Berkshire. The gardens are open to the public all year round on particular weekdays and the house by appointment only for large ...

in Berkshire. He inherited this latter property (16,000 acres, worth 20,004 guineas rental per annum) and its associated estates upon his uncle's death in 1854 and changed his name to Benyon. Educated at

Charterhouse Charterhouse may refer to: * Charterhouse (monastery), of the Carthusian religious order Charterhouse may also refer to: Places * The Charterhouse, Coventry, a former monastery * Charterhouse School, an English public school in Surrey Londo ...

and

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, he was a member of

Boodle's Boodle's is a London gentlemen's club, founded in January 1762, at No. 50 Pall Mall, London, by Lord Shelburne, the future Marquess of Lansdowne and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. History The club was originally based next door to Wi ...

, Carlton and

London clubs. In 1857 he was appointed

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

, and was the Chairman of the County's

Quarter Sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

in 1864. In 1860 he was elected the

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 o ...

for Berkshire, a position he held until his resignation in 1876. He was a patron of the Anti-Mendacity Society, the National Society for School Furniture and the Society for the Augmentation of Small Livings. By his wife Elizabeth Mary Clutterbuck he had three daughters, and upon his death in 1897, his estates were inherited by his nephew,

James Herbert Benyon James Herbert Benyon (born Fellowes; 1849–1935) was an early 20th-century Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Early life Born James Herbert Fellowes, he was the son of James Fellowes of Kingston Maurward House near Dorchester, Dorset who was th ...

. Meanwhile, his daughter Marion Emma had married Sir John Shelley, 9th Bt., and as a result of her cousins' own lack of sons with children, her younger son inherited Englefield in 1959. Thereby Richard Fellowes Benyon's great-grandson and eventual heir became Sir William Richard Benyon, whose son Richard Henry Ronald Benyon was MP for Newbury from 2005 to 2019 and inherited Englefield House.

References

External links

*
Portrait
at Berkshire Record Office
Royal Berkshire History: Englefield House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benyon, Richard Fellowes 1811 births 1897 deaths Conservative MPs High Sheriffs of Berkshire Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Berkshire People from Englefield, Berkshire People from Broadland (district) UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Benyon family