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Sir Richard Knightley (1533 – 1 September 1615) of
Fawsley Hall in
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
was an English
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 ...
(MP) and leading patron of the
Puritan
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Catholic Church, Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become m ...
s during the reign of
Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen".
El ...
. The Knightleys were one of the leading families of
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
.
Biography
Knightley was the eldest son of Valentine Knightley of Fawsley and his wife Anne (née Ferrers). He succeeded his father in 1566 and was knighted in 1565.
He was MP for
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
in the Parliaments of 1584 and 1586, and for
Northamptonshire
Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by
two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...
in those of 1589 and 1598. He also served as
High Sheriff of Northamptonshire
This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire.
The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...
in 1568–1569 and 1581–1582. In 1587 he was commanded by Queen Elizabeth to be present at the execution of
Mary, Queen of Scots
Mary, Queen of Scots (8 December 1542 – 8 February 1587), also known as Mary Stuart or Mary I of Scotland, was Queen of Scotland from 14 December 1542 until her forced abdication in 1567.
The only surviving legitimate child of James V of Scot ...
(which took place in Northamptonshire).
He was a conspicuous member of the Puritan faction in Parliament, and in November 1588 was involved in the printing of the
Marprelate tracts
The Marprelate Controversy was a war of pamphlets waged in England and Wales in 1588 and 1589, between a puritan writer who employed the pseudonym Martin Marprelate, and defenders of the Church of England which remained an established church.
Ch ...
. In the late spring of 1588
Elizabeth Hussey
Elizabeth Hussey (died c. 1606), later Elizabeth Crane and Elizabeth Carleton, was a religious activist with strong Puritan sympathies. She and her second husband, George Carleton, were prosecuted for involvement in the Marprelate controver ...
allowed the printer
Robert Waldegrave
Robert Waldegrave or Walgrave (c.1554 – October 1603), the son of Richard Waldegrave of Blockley, Worcestershire, was a 16th-century printer and publisher in England and Scotland. From 1578 to 1588 he printed numerous, mainly religious works in ...
and the Puritan preacher and pamphleteer
John Penry
John Penry (1563 – 29 May 1593), who was executed for high treason during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, is Wales' most famous Protestant Separatist martyr.
Early life
He was born in Brecknockshire, Wales; Cefn Brith, a farm near Llangammar ...
to set up a secret press at her country home at
East Molesey
Molesey is a district of two twin towns, East Molesey and West Molesey, in the Borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, England, and is situated on the south bank of the River Thames.
East and West Molesey share a high street, and there is a second retail ...
,
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
, across the Thames from
Hampton Court Palace
Hampton Court Palace is a Grade I listed royal palace in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, southwest and upstream of central London on the River Thames. The building of the palace began in 1514 for Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, the chie ...
. The first tract to be printed there was a work by
John Udall, the ''Demonstration of Discipline''. In late 1588 and early 1589, Waldegrave embarked on an even more controversial enterprise, printing the first four tracts written against the ecclesiastical authorities by an unknown satirist using the pseudonym
Martin Marprelate
Martin Marprelate (sometimes printed as Martin Mar-prelate and Marre–Martin) was the name used by the anonymous author or authors of the seven Marprelate tracts that circulated illegally in England in the years 1588 and 1589. Their principal f ...
. The first of the
Marprelate tracts
The Marprelate Controversy was a war of pamphlets waged in England and Wales in 1588 and 1589, between a puritan writer who employed the pseudonym Martin Marprelate, and defenders of the Church of England which remained an established church.
Ch ...
, Martin's ''Epistle'' was printed on the secret press in October 1588. It enjoyed immense popularity, and the ecclesiastical authorities instigated a hue and cry after Martin. In November the press was moved from East Molesey to Sir Richard Knightley's house at
Fawsley
Fawsley is a hamlet and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England.- OS Explorer Map 207: Newport Pagnell & Northampton South (1:25 000) The population at the 2001 census was 32. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 and ...
, where Martin's second tract, ''The Epitome'', was printed. Knightley may even have met the expense of the printing. Shortly thereafter the secret press was moved to the
Whitefriars, Coventry
The buildings known as Whitefriars are the surviving fragments of a Carmelites, Carmelite friary founded in 1342 in Coventry, England. All that remains are the eastern cloister walk, a postern gateway in Much Park Street and the foundations of t ...
, the home of Knightley's great-nephew,
John Hales John Hales may refer to:
*John Hales (theologian) (1584–1656), English theologian
* John Hales (bishop of Exeter) from 1455 to 1456
*John Hales (bishop of Coventry and Lichfield) (died 1490) from 1459 to 1490
* John Hales (died 1540), MP for Cante ...
, where ''Certaine Minerall and Metaphysicall Schoolpoints'' and ''Hay Any Worke for Cooper'' were printed, the former in early January and the latter in late March 1589. Waldegrave then refused to print any further tracts, citing the Puritan ministers' disapproval of Martin Marprelate's course of action. The secret press was then moved to
Wolston Priory
Wolston Priory was a Benedictine priory near Wolston in Warwickshire, England. The earthwork remains of the priory are a Scheduled Ancient Monument. A present grade II* listed house is based on the remains of the rectory.
The priory was establish ...
in
Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...
, the home of Roger Wigston.
The secret press was captured in 1589, and Knightley was arrested, though subsequently released. In February 1589 he was fined £2,000 by the
Court of Star Chamber
The Star Chamber (Latin: ''Camera stellata'') was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (c. 1641), and was composed of Privy Counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judic ...
, and dismissed from the
lieutenancy
A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibility ...
of the county and the
magistracy
A magistrates' court is a lower court where, in several jurisdictions, all criminal proceedings start. Also some civil matters may be dealt with here, such as family proceedings.
Courts
* Magistrates' court (England and Wales)
* Magistrate's Cou ...
. In 1605, he was again fined, this time the sum of £10,000.
He was MP for
Orford, Suffolk
Orford is a village with historic town status in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB. It is located east of Woodbridge.
History
Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in th ...
in 1601.
He died on 1 September 1615 in
Norton, Northamptonshire
Norton is a village in West Northamptonshire. The population including Brokhall and Norton at the 2011 census was 434. The village is about east of Daventry, west of Northampton. Junction 16 of the M1 motorway is about south-east and the near ...
.
Richard Knightley's grave inscription at Finde A Grave Memorial
/ref>
Marriages and children
He married twice:
*Firstly to Mary Fermor, a daughter of Richard Fermor of Easton Neston
Easton Neston is situated in south Northamptonshire, England. Though the village of Easton Neston which was inhabited until around 1500 is now gone, the parish retains the name. At the 2011 Census the population of the civil parish remained le ...
, by whom he had three sons and three daughters.
*Secondly to Lady Elizabeth Seymour (d.1602), a daughter of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset
Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset (150022 January 1552) (also 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Viscount Beauchamp), also known as Edward Semel, was the eldest surviving brother of Queen Jane Seymour (d. 1537), the third wife of King Henry VI ...
, by whom he had seven sons and seven daughters. Her monument with effigy survives in All Saints Church, Norton, Northamptonshire. His son and heir, Valentine, and a grandson, Richard
Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...
, were also Members of Parliament.
Notes
References
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*
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*
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* Charles Henry Timperley
Charles Henry Timperley (1794–1869) was an English printer and writer.
Life
He was born in Manchester, and educated at the Manchester Grammar School. In March 1810 he enlisted in the 33rd Regiment of Foot, was wounded at the Battle of Waterloo ...
, ''A Dictionary of Printers and Printing'' (London: H Johnson, 1839)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knightley, Richard
1533 births
1615 deaths
People from West Northamptonshire District
High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire
Knights Bachelor
16th-century Protestants
17th-century Protestants
English MPs 1584–1585
English MPs 1586–1587
English MPs 1589
English MPs 1597–1598
English MPs 1601