Richard Aldworth (c. 1614 – 5 October 1680) of Stanlakes, Hurst St Nicholas,

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, was an English 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. ...

from 1661 to 1679. He was also founder of the Blue Coat schools in

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

and

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...

, and fought in the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

army in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. Aldworth was the son of Richard Aldworth of

Wargrave Wargrave () is a historic village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. The village is primarily on the River Thames but also along the confluence of the River Loddon and lies on the border with southern Oxfordshire. The village has many old ...

, Berkshire and his wife Amy Persons, daughter of Thomas Persons of Great Milton, Oxfordshire. He was a student at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1637. He succeeded his father in 1638. In the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

he became Royalist captain of horse in 1642. He was auditor of the army by 1643 and became a major in the Royalist army by 1644. He fought at the

Second Battle of Newbury The Second Battle of Newbury was a battle of the First English Civil War fought on 27 October 1644, in Speen, adjoining Newbury in Berkshire. The battle was fought close to the site of the First Battle of Newbury, which took place in la ...

Walter Money,
The first and second battles of Newbury and the siege of Donnington castle
' (1881), p. 123. and at Bristol. he petitioned to compound on the Oxford articles and later escaped to the Netherlands. In 1650 he returned to England and compounded for £200. History of Parliament Online – Aldworth, Richard
/ref> After the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

Aldworth became J.P. for Berkshire in July 1660, Commissioner for assessment for Berkshire in August 1660, and Secretary to

Archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

William Juxon William Juxon (1582 – 4 June 1663) was an English churchman, Bishop of London from 1633 to 1646 and Archbishop of Canterbury from 1660 until his death. Life Education Juxon was the son of Richard Juxon and was born probably in Chichester, a ...

in September 1660. He was auditor of land revenues for Yorkshire, Northumberland and county Durham from 1661. In 1661 he 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

in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

. He also became freeman of Canterbury and Reading. He became J.P. for Wiltshire in 1662 and was

commissioner for loyal and indigent officers The Commissioners for loyal and indigent officers were a body formed by a 1662 Act of the Parliament of England (14 Car. 2 c. 8) to provide relief to impoverished Royalist officers who had served in the English Civil War. After the English Resto ...

for Berkshire. In 1663 he became commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire and in 1665 for Westminster and also for Kent. In 1668 he became additional auditor of imprests. He was a Deputy Lieutenant after 1670. In 1672 he became chief auditor and sub-commissioner for prizes. He was commissioner for recusants in 1675. Aldworth lived at Stanlake Park at

Ruscombe Ruscombe is a village and civil parish, east of Twyford in the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. History Reports from the late 1800s provided summaries of the status of the village; in 1876, the population was 200 and that increased ...

and, dying at the age of 66, was commemorated by a memorial in the

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. Aldworth married Anne Gwynn, daughter of William Gwynn of Frogmore House, Windsor, Berkshire by 1646 and had six sons and six daughters. The Richard Aldworth who was the Reading M.P. was not the man who founded the Reading and Basingstoke Blue Coat schools. A kinsman, also named Richard Aldworth (1576-1648), by his will dated 1646 founded both the Reading Blue Coat School for 24 boys, and the Basingstoke Blue Coat School for 8 boys, the boys to be dressed in blue coats (just like those of Christ's Hospital in Newgate, London, of which Aldworth was a governor). Richard Aldworth's mother, Jane South, came from Basingstoke. Richard Aldworth's charity survives as Aldworth's Educational Trust, granting small amounts to local young people in the Borough of Basingstoke and Deane. Richard Aldworth died in London on 5 March 1648 and was buried in St Mary Magdalene, Milk Street, which was destroyed in the Great Fire of London, 1666. This Richard Aldworth was apprenticed to The Skinners’ Company from a young age, living and dying in London.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aldworth, Richard 1614 births 1680 deaths People from Ruscombe People from Wargrave English MPs 1661–1679 Cavaliers Founders of English schools and colleges 17th-century philanthropists