Richard Liddell (c. 1694 – 22 June 1746) was an Irish MP and

Chief Secretary for Ireland The Chief Secretary for Ireland was a key political office in the British administration in Ireland. Nominally subordinate to the Lord Lieutenant, and officially the "Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant", from the early 19th century un ...

. He was born the eldest son of Dennis Lyddell of

Wakehurst Place Wakehurst, previously known as Wakehurst Place, is a house and botanic gardens in West Sussex, England, owned by the National Trust but used and managed by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It is near Ardingly, West Sussex in the High Weald (g ...

, Sussex, one of the Commissioners of the Royal Navy and briefly the MP for

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

. Richard was educated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, studied law at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

and succeeded his father in 1717. He was a profligate rake and was obliged to make over his inheritance to his younger brother Charles following court judgements against him for adultery. In 1741 he was elected MP for Bossiney but unseated on petition after a few months. He was, however, reseated on further petition, sitting until his death in 1746. In 1745 he was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

in Ireland and appointed

, a position he held until his death. He was also MP for Jamestown in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...

from 1745 until his death. He died unmarried.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Liddell, Richard 1746 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Leitrim constituencies Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland British MPs 1741–1747 1690s births Chief Secretaries for Ireland