Sir Richard Gipps (1659 – 21 December 1708) of

Great Whelnetham Great Whelnetham (sometimes Great Welnetham) is a village and civil parish in the West Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located around two miles south of Bury St Edmunds, in 2005 its population was 820. The parish also contains ...

, Suffolk, was

Master of the Revels The Master of the Revels was the holder of a position within the English, and later the British, royal household, heading the "Revels Office" or "Office of the Revels". The Master of the Revels was an executive officer under the Lord Chamberlain ...

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

and a historian of the county of Suffolk. His portrait painted by

John Closterman John Closterman (also spelt Cloosterman, Klosterman; 1660 – 24 May 1711 (buried)) was a Westphalian portrait painter of the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His subjects were mostly European noblemen and their families. Career Born in Osn ...

, was engraved in

mezzotint Mezzotint is a monochrome printmaking process of the '' intaglio'' family. It was the first printing process that yielded half-tones without using line- or dot-based techniques like hatching, cross-hatching or stipple. Mezzotint achieves tonal ...

by John Smith. Care should be taken to distinguish him from Sir Richard Gipps of Horningsheth, a contemporary, neighbour, and distant relative, who was knighted by Charles II at Saxham, Suffolk, on 20 October 1676.

Origins

Gipps was the second son of John Gipps (c.1620–1707) of

, Suffolk, by his wife Mary Davidson (d. 1665), daughter of David Davidson, alderman of London, and was baptised at Great Whelnetham on 15 September 1659.

Career

He spent seven years at Bury Grammar School and proceeded to

Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of t ...

. He was admitted a student of Gray's Inn 5 February 1675–6; the only other record of his membership of that society previous to 1682 is a decree of censure on him for a breach of authority. On 3 November 1682 Gipps assumed the office of Master of the Revels to the society. These continued every Saturday for two terms, and were patronized by royalty. On 27 November that year Gipps was knighted by King Charles II at

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...

. On 23 January 1682–3 he went in great state to Whitehall to invite the king, queen, and court to a masque held on the following

Candlemas Day Candlemas (also spelled Candlemass), also known as the Feast of the Presentation of Jesus Christ, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, or the Feast of the Holy Encounter, is a Christian holiday commemorating the presenta ...

(2 February) at Gray's Inn, which was performed with great splendour. Subsequently Gipps appears to have retired to his seat in Suffolk, and devoted himself to antiquarian pursuits and the history of his native county. His manuscript collections for this purpose are in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

and the Bodleian Library,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. Sir John Cullum, 6th Baronet transcribed Gipps's ''Collections for the History of the Suffolk Gentry'', and made considerable additions. This manuscript is in the possession of G. Milner-Gibson-Cullum, F.S.A., at Hardwick, Bury St Edmunds, who also owns the original copper-plate of the admission ticket to the aforesaid masque. Besides Great Whelnetham Gipps inherited property at Brockley and Rede Hall in Suffolk, which he sold.

Marriage and children

He married Mary Giles, daughter and heiress of Edward Giles of Bowden House,

Ashprington Ashprington is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England. The village is not far from the River Dart, but high above it, and is about three miles south of Totnes. There is a local pub, hotel and phonebox. The ci ...

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. Devo ...

shire, with whom he obtained the large Bowden estate, which he sold, and by whom he had three sons and a daughter.

Death and burial

He died on 21 December 1708 and was buried at Great Whelnetham.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gipps, Richard 1659 births 1708 deaths 17th-century English writers 17th-century English male writers English antiquarians People from the Borough of St Edmundsbury