Sir Thomas Rich, 1st Baronet (c. 1601 – 15 October 1667) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

merchant and politician who sat in

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. ...

in 1660. He established

Sir Thomas Rich's School Sir Thomas Rich's School is a grammar school with academy status for boys (aged 11–18) and girls (aged 16–18, in the sixth form) in Longlevens, Gloucester, England, locally known as "Tommies". It was founded in 1666 by Sir Thomas Rich, 1st ...

, a

grammar school A grammar school is one of several different types of school in the history of education in the United Kingdom and other English-speaking countries, originally a school teaching Latin, but more recently an academically oriented secondary school ...

.A Potted History of Sir Thomas Rich's School

Sir Thomas Rich's School, Gloucester
Rich was born in

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

, son of Thomas Rich, an alderman of the city, and Anne, daughter of Thomas Machin, in 1601. He was sent to school in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and went on to study at the newly founded

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

. Afterwards, he worked in the city of London in the wine importing trade. Rich later purchased the manor of

Sonning Sonning is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England, on the River Thames, east of Reading. The village was described by Jerome K. Jerome in his book ''Three Men in a Boat'' as "the most fairy-like little nook on the whole river". Geogr ...

, near

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 ...

. In 1657 Rich was appointed

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, 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 older ...

and in 1660 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 ...

(MP) for

in the Convention Parliament.History of Parliament Online – Rich, Thomas
/ref> In 1661, Charles II created him

Baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Sunning, Berkshire. Rich died in 1667 and was buried in the Rich Chapel in the parish church at Sonning – his monument has been moved to under the church tower. In his will, Rich left £6000 and his house in Gloucester to establish a school for poor boys. The money was invested in local farmland, and the rent generated by the house was used to pay for the upkeep and operation of the school. Sir Thomas Rich's School opened in 1668, one year after Rich's death, and is still in use today as a grammar school, although not in its original location. The Tommy Psalm (the School Song) describes the history of the school (albeit incorrectly).

Marriages

He married firstly Barbara Morewood, daughter of Gilbert Morewood and Martha Saunderson, by whom he had one daughter Mary, who married Sir Robert Gayer. He married, secondly, Elizabeth Cockayne (or Cokayne), by whom he had several children, including William, his son and heir.

References

1600s births 1667 deaths People from Sonning People from Gloucester Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1660 High Sheriffs of Berkshire Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Reading 17th-century merchants 17th-century English businesspeople {{England-baronet-stub