Richard Strode ('' floruit'' 1512) was in 1512 a Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle, Devon and was also involved in the tin mining industry. He is best known for having instigated

Strode's case Strode's Case 3 ''Howell's State Trials'' 294 is one of the earliest and most important English cases dealing with parliamentary privilege. Facts Richard Strode was a Member of Parliament from Devon, England. In 1512, he introduced a bill to a ...

, one of the earliest and most important English legal cases dealing with

parliamentary privilege Parliamentary privilege is a legal immunity enjoyed by members of certain legislatures, in which legislators are granted protection against civil or criminal liability for actions done or statements made in the course of their legislative duties. ...

Origins

Although it is almost certain he belonged to the ancient Strode family seated at Newnham in the parish of

Plympton St Mary Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down river to ...

in Devon, of which many subsequently were MP for Plympton Erle, his identity is not certain. He was possibly the Richard Strode who is known to have married Joan Pennalls, the younger son of Richard Strode (d.1464) of Newnham whose effigy fully dressed in armour survives in St Mary's Church, Plympton. He would thus have been the heir of his elder brother William Strode (d. 1518) of Newnham. However such an identification cannot be made with certainty.

Strode's case

With the aid of some fellow MPs, Strode attempted to introduce legislation restricting the rights of tin miners on Dartmoor. However, Strode was himself a tinner, and an influential competitor brought charges against Strode in a

stannary court Stannary law (derived from the la, stannum for tin) is the body of English law that governs tin mining in Devon and Cornwall; although no longer of much practical relevance, the stannary law remains part of the law of the United Kingdom and is ...

, a regional tribunal empowered to judge mining disputes. Strode was fined £160, but refused to pay the fine, whereupon he was imprisoned at Lydford Castle. He was released three weeks later by a letter from the Exchequer; at Strode's request, Parliament had passed a law (

Strode's Act The Privilege of Parliament Act 1512 or the Parliamentary Privilege Act 1512The citation of this Act by this short title is authorised for the Republic of Ireland bsection 4(a)of, anof Schedule 1 to, the Statute Law Revision Act 2007. ( 4 Hen. 8. ...

) reversing the local court decision and granting him immunity from further prosecution related to his parliamentary activities.

Sources

*Zechariah Chafee, Jr. ''Three Human Rights in the Constitution of 1787''. University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, 1956, pp. 27–28.
Hawkyard, A.D.K., biography of Richard Strode published in History of Parliament: House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strode, Richard 1480s births 1522 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for Plympton Erle English MPs 1512–1514 English miners 15th-century English people