Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Baronet (1560–1622) was a member of parliament for

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated ''Lancs'') is a ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Cumbria to the north, North Yorkshire and West Yorkshire to the east, Greater Manchester and Merseyside to the south, and the Irish Sea to ...

, Mayor of

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

and Receiver-General of the Duchy of Lancaster.

Life

Molyneux was the son of William Molyneux and his wife Bridget Caryll. His grandfather, Sir Richard Molyneux (1528–1568), was MP for Liverpool from 1562 to 1571. He was educated at

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

. In 1581, Molyneux was appointed by substitution MP of

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a town in Greater Manchester, England. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. It is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its ad ...

, replacing Sir Edward Fitton and knighted in 1586. In 1588–89, he was

Mayor of Liverpool From 2012 to 2023, the mayor of Liverpool was the executive mayor of the city of Liverpool in England. The office was abolished in 2023 and its functions were replaced with the leader of Liverpool City Council. The mayor of Liverpool was previ ...

and in 1588 and 1596

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient office, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lanca ...

. He was

knight of the shire Knight of the shire () was the formal title for a member of parliament (MP) representing a county constituency in the British House of Commons, from its origins in the medieval Parliament of England until the Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 ...

(MP) for Lancashire in 1584, 1593 and 1604. He held the office of Receiver-General of the Duchy of Lancaster from 1607. He was created Baronet Molyneux in 1611. On his death, he was buried in Sefton parish church. His seats were Sefton Hall, Sefton and

Lytham Hall Lytham Hall is an 18th-century Georgian country house in Lytham, Lancashire, from the centre of the town, in of wooded parkland. It is recorded in the National Heritage List for England as a designated Grade I listed building, the only on ...

, Fylde. He left his estates to his son Richard.

Family

Molyneux married firstly a daughter of Lord Strange and secondly, around 1590, Frances Gerard, the daughter of Sir Gilbert Gerard and Anne Radcliffe, with whom he had 13 children (six sons and seven daughters), including Sir Richard Molyneux, 1st Viscount Molyneux and Sir Vivian Molyneux. Alice Molyneux, their eldest daughter, married Sir William Dormer and their son, Robert, was created Earl of Carnarvon in 1628. A younger daughter Margaret married Edward Osbaldeston, of a prominent

family and had issue including Richard Osbaldston,

Attorney General for Ireland The Attorney-General for Ireland was an Kingdom of Ireland, Irish and then, from 1801 under the Acts of Union 1800, United Kingdom government office-holder. He was senior in rank to the Solicitor-General for Ireland: both advised the Crown on ...

Life

Family

References

Further reading