Richard Wenman, 1st Viscount Wenman (1573–1640), was an English soldier and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

between 1621 and 1625. He was created

Viscount Wenman Viscount Wenman, of Tuam in the County of Galway, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 30 July 1628 for Sir Richard Wenman, Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in 1620 and 1625, the son of Thomas Wenman (died 1577), a Bucking ...

in the

Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...

in 1628.

Life

Wenman was the eldest son of Thomas Wenman (died 1577) of

Thame Park Thame is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire, about east of the city of Oxford and southwest of Aylesbury. It derives its name from the River Thame which flows along the north side of the town and forms p ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, and his wife Jane West, daughter of

William West, 1st Baron De La Warr William West, 1st Baron De La Warr ( ) of the second creation (c. 1530 – 30 December 1595) was the elder son of Sir George West (d.1538), second son of Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr, by his third wife, Eleanor Copley, and Elizabeth Morto ...

, who married at St Dunstan in the West, London on 9 June 1572. His father is mistakenly called Richard by Burke. Following his father's death, his mother remarried to James Cressy of

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, west-northwest of central London and south-southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High W ...

(died 1581), then (in January 1587/88) to

Thomas Tasburgh Thomas Tasburgh (c. 1553 – c. 1602), originally of South Elmham, Suffolk, afterwards of Hawridge and latterly of Beaconsfield and Twyford, Buckinghamshire, was a member of the English landed gentry, a magistrate, member of parliament, High ...

Hawridge Hawridge, (recorded as Hoquerug in the 12th century) is a small village in the Chilterns in the county of Buckinghamshire, England and bordering the county boundary with Hertfordshire. It is from Chesham, from both Tring and Berkhamsted. H ...

, Buckinghamshire (died 1602–03), and lastly to Ralph Sheldon, Esquire (1537-1613) of

Beoley Beoley is a small village and larger civil parish north of Redditch in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire. It adjoins Warwickshire to the east. The 2001 census gave a parish population of 945, mostly at Holt End. The parish includes the ...

, Worcestershire.'iv. Jane West', in D. Richardson, ed. K.G. Everingham, ''Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families'', 4 vols, 2nd Edn (Salt Lake City, 2011), IV
p. 325
(Google). Dame Jane Tasburghe ( West)'s last will and testament was proved in 1621. Richard Wenman matriculated at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

on 8 December 1587 as 'Mr. Case's scholar.' Wenman served as a volunteer soldier and behaved with great gallantry when Cadiz was captured in 1596. He was knighted by

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...

, at Cadiz.Knights of England
/ref> Wenman was elected

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 ...

for

on 20 December 1620, and was elected again in 1625. In 1627 he was

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, 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 olde ...

. He was created Baron Wenman of

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. The area was once known as Kilmanum. History In t ...

co. Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the s ...

, and Viscount Wenman of

Tuam Tuam ( ; ga, Tuaim , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. Humans have lived in the area since the Bron ...

by letters patent, dated 30 July 1628. Wenman was a patron of the poet

William Basse William Basse (c.1583–1653?) was an English poet. A follower of Edmund Spenser, he is now remembered principally for an elegy on Shakespeare. He is also noted for his " Angler's song", which was written for Izaak Walton, who included it in ''T ...

, who dedicated several poems to him, including his collection ''Clio'', describing him as a modern

Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. During the re ...

, :Never Maecenas bred more nobly true: :And O what virtue more, than life to give :To verse, whereby all other virtues live?

Death

Wenman died on 3 April 1640, and was buried at Twyford on 7 April.

Family

Wenman married four times. His first wife was Agnes Fermor. By her he had two surviving sons,

Thomas Wenman, 2nd Viscount Wenman Thomas Wenman, 2nd Viscount Wenman (1596 – 25 January 1665), was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1660. Wenman was the only son of Richard Wenman, 1st Viscount Wenman, by Agn ...

, and Philip (died 20 April 1696), who succeeded as third viscount; and four daughters. After her death, he married Alice Chamberlayne, widow of Robert Chamberlayne and a lady of some wealth, on 4 November 1618 at St. Bartholomew the Great, London. His third wife, Elizabeth, was buried at Twyford on 27 April 1629. His fourth wife was Mary Keble, daughter of Thomas Keble of Essex, and she was buried at Twyford on 28 July 1638.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenman, Richard 1573 births 1640 deaths English soldiers 16th-century English soldiers 17th-century soldiers Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Charles I High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire English landowners English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1625