Richard Fulmerston (by 1516 – 1567), of

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

and

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, was an English politician, entrepreneur, and philanthropist.

Family

It is unclear who Fulmerston's parents are, but his father may also have been named Richard Fulmerston. It is thought the family probably originated from Fulmodeston, Norfolk.Bindoff, Stanley Thomas. ''The House of Commons, 1509-1558'', Boydell & Brewer, 1982, p. 176
Fulmerston married Alice, the daughter of 'Lonzam' of Suffolk and widow of

merchant and MP, Thomas Hayward, who had died in 1534. Fulmerston had married Alice by March 1539. They had at least one daughter.

Career

Fulmerston was a servant of Thomas, 3rd Duke of Norfolk, a family with whom the Fulmerstons of Norfolk had a long-standing connection. St. George's Priory, a house of

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

nuns, and a dependency of

Bury St Edmunds Abbey The Abbey of Bury St Edmunds was once among the richest Benedictine monasteries in England, until the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. It is in the town that grew up around it, Bury St Edmunds in the county of Suffolk, England. It was ...

, was dissolved In 1537 and the buildings and land were granted to Fulmerston. The buildings were converted to a house, but in the early seventeenth century a new house was built, known as Nunnery Place. The church was converted into a barn. As of 1991, the

British Trust for Ornithology The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is an organisation founded in 1932 for the study of birds in the British Isles. The Prince of Wales has been patron since October 2020. History Beginnings In 1931 Max Nicholson wrote: In the United State ...

occupies the site. In 1538, he was under-steward to the former Lady Mary Howard, then Duchess of Richmond. He purchased the Blackfriars Friary, dissolved in 1538; and leased the Priory of St. Mary, formerly of Benedictine monks affiliated with

Cluny Abbey Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saint Peter. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with three churches ...

, from Norfolk. He also purchased the

chantry A chantry is an ecclesiastical term that may have either of two related meanings: # a chantry service, a Christian liturgy of prayers for the dead, which historically was an obiit, or # a chantry chapel, a building on private land, or an area in ...

of the College of Saint John the Evangelist of Rushworth, which at dissolution in 1541 had been granted to

Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey (1516/1517 – 19 January 1547), Order of the Garter, KG, was an English nobleman, politician and poet. He was one of the founders of English Renaissance poetry and was the last known person executed at the instan ...

. As such a large landholder, his position in the community increased considerably after the arrest of Norfolk in 1546. Fulmerston was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in 1547, for

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun (River Kennet), River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough, Wilt ...

in October 1553, April 1554 and November 1554, for

Horsham Horsham is a market town on the upper reaches of the River Arun on the fringe of the Weald in West Sussex, England. The town is south south-west of London, north-west of Brighton and north-east of the county town of Chichester. Nearby to ...

in 1558, for New Shoreham in 1559 and for

in 1563. He supported Queen Mary against

Lady Jane Grey Lady Jane Grey ( 1537 – 12 February 1554), later known as Lady Jane Dudley (after her marriage) and as the "Nine Days' Queen", was an English noblewoman who claimed the throne of England and Ireland from 10 July until 19 July 1553. Jane was ...

's supporters in 1553. He re-founded The Grammar School in Thetford, the original school having been a pre-conquest monastic foundation until the Dissolution. By the terms of his will, Fulmerston directed his heirs to establish a free grammar school in Thetford. Soon after his death, they erected a school-house upon part of Blackfriars Yard. The 16th century school building incorporates part of the church of the Dominican Friary and is still is use by

Thetford Grammar School Thetford Grammar School is an independent co-educational school in Thetford, Norfolk, England. The school might date back to the 7th century, which would make it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. History The school website conject ...

."History", Thetford Grammar School
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fulmerston, Richard 1567 deaths English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1553 (Mary I) English MPs 1554 English MPs 1554–1555 English MPs 1558 English MPs 1559 English MPs 1563–1567 Politicians from Ipswich People from Thetford Year of birth uncertain