William Rickhill (before 1385 – after 1447), of

Ifield, Kent Singlewell or Ifield is the name given to the area south of Gravesend in Kent, England. Originally two separate settlements on either side of Watling Street, it is now separated by the A2 road and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link and bears little re ...

, was an English politician.

Family

Rickhill was the eldest son of Sir William Rickhill (died 1407), of Ifield and Islingham in

Frindsbury Frindsbury is part of the Medway Towns conurbation in Kent, southern England. It lies on the opposite side of the River Medway to Rochester, Kent, Rochester, and at various times in its history has been considered fully or partially part of the ...

and his wife Rose (died 1418). Rose was close to William and left him her personal property. He was the elder brother of John Rickhill, MP (died 1432), Nicholas and Alice, who married

William Skrene William Skrene (c. 1357/8–1419/20) was an Irish-born barrister and judge who spent most of his adult life in England, where he became King's Serjeant and a judge of assize. He also served briefly as Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer in 1395-7 ...

Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer The Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer was the Baron (judge) who presided over the Court of Exchequer (Ireland). The Irish Court of Exchequer was a mirror of the equivalent court in England and was one of the four courts which sat in the buildin ...

. Nicholas married a wealthy widow, but at his death in 1432 was entangled in numerous lawsuits, which William had the task of fighting or setting. William Rickhill married, before February 1421, Katherine Coventry, daughter of William Coventry, a London merchant. They had one daughter, and Katherine died on 27 August 1433. Their daughter married Edward Lymsey and had a son John, who was his grandfather's heir.

Career

He fought well at the

Battle of Agincourt The Battle of Agincourt ( ; french: Azincourt ) was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 (Saint Crispin's Day) near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerica ...

, and took three French prisoners, who he held to

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''red ...

. He apparently took no further part in the war. In 1420, Rickhill was a

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

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

References

Year of birth missing 1447 deaths 14th-century births People from Gravesend, Kent English MPs 1420 {{15thC-England-MP-stub