Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh
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Richard Jones, 1st Earl of Ranelagh (8 February 1641 – 5 January 1712), known as The Viscount Ranelagh between 1669 and 1677, was an Irish peer, politician both in the Parliaments of England and Ireland.


Background

He was the eldest son of
Arthur Jones, 2nd Viscount Ranelagh Arthur Jones, 2nd Viscount Ranelagh (died 1669) was an Irish peer and politician who sat in both the Irish House of Commons and the English House of Commons. Jones was the son of Roger Jones, 1st Viscount Ranelagh and his wife Frances Moore, daug ...
and Katherine Boyle, daughter of the
Earl of Cork Earl of Cork is a title in the Peerage of Ireland, held in conjunction with the Earldom of Orrery since 1753. It was created in 1620 for Richard Boyle, 1st Baron Boyle. He had already been created Lord Boyle, Baron of Youghal, in the County o ...
who counted amongst her brothers the chemist
Robert Boyle Robert Boyle (; 25 January 1627 – 31 December 1691) was an Anglo-Irish natural philosopher, chemist, physicist, alchemist and inventor. Boyle is largely regarded today as the first modern chemist, and therefore one of the founders of ...
and Lord Broghill, the later Earl of Orrery who was a prominent
politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
in Cromwellian and Restoration times. Jones's mother was estranged from her husband who appears to have been a drunkard and Richard Jones was largely brought up in his mother's household 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 ...
.


Irish parliamentary career

Following the Restoration of Charles II he became a member of the Irish Parliament for Roscommon, and in 1668 was appointed to the
Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...
. In the Irish parliament, Ranelagh was associated initially with the group which opposed the land settlement being proposed by Ormond, the then viceroy, but upon appointment to the government as
chancellor of the exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
(a relatively minor role), he became a strong supporter of Ormond's. He accompanied the new Viceroy, Berkeley on his trip to England in 1671 when Lord Aungier (later earl of Longford), the vice treasurer, presented a grim view of Irish finances and crown debts. Ranelagh seized this opportunity to reinterpret the situation as one where the crown, far from being indebted, could reap a profit from
Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
if it managed monies owing to the crown and the government finances differently. Ranelagh was granted an 'undertaking' whereby he and a partnership took on the crown debts and effectively 'privatised' the treasury. Ranelagh was rewarded personally with his earldom and the role of vice-treasurer of Ireland. Throughout the whole of Essex's vice-royalty from 1672 to 1677 Ranelagh wielded real influence on the Irish government from Whitehall developing a strong relationship with the
Earl of Danby Earl of Danby was a title that was created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1626 in favour of the soldier Henry Danvers, 1st Baron Danvers. He had already been created Baron Danvers, of Dauntsey in the County of Wiltsh ...
, the English Treasurer who was effectively Charles's first minister.


English parliamentary career

When the undertaking finished in 1675 it was not renewed, but the Crown was now clear of all debts. Ranelagh ensured regular payments were made to the English Treasury, some of which paid for troops for Charles and some of which went to the renovation of
Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...
. This was largely achieved through short payment of the Irish army which was Ranelagh's training ground for his later embezzlements as Paymaster General to the English army. His skill, however, lay in his efficiency—for all his short payments the Irish army were in fact better paid than in the previous ill-managed regime. He ceased his involvement in Irish affairs in 1681 when the Irish treasury was handed over to a group of treasury commissioners. Ranelagh remained closely associated with Danby after 1675, but when the latter fell from power he remained a loyalist to Charles and an associate of the
Duchess of Portsmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...
and of the
Earl of Sunderland Earl of Sunderland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Emanuel Scrope, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The earldom became extinct on his death in 1630 while the barony becam ...
. He remained in royal favour during James IIs reign, but when William III and Mary II came to the throne he was able to transfer his loyalties and become a senior figure in the new regime (his old friend the Earl of Danby was one of the seven who signed the
Invitation to William The ''Invitation to William'' was a letter sent by seven notable English nobles, later called "the Immortal Seven", to stadtholder William III, Prince of Orange, received by him on 30 June 1688 (Julian calendar, 10 July Gregorian calendar). In ...
). In 1670 he inherited his father's
viscountcy A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
, and in 1674 was created First
Earl of Ranelagh Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
. Both these peerages being in the
Peerage of Ireland The Peerage of Ireland consists of those titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It is one of the five divisi ...
they did not disqualify him from sitting in the English House of Commons and in 1685 was elected as MP for
Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...
; in the same year he was appointed to the lucrative post of
Paymaster of the Forces The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration (1660), Restoration of the Monarchy to King Charles II, and was responsible for part of the financing of t ...
. He was subsequently member for Newtown (Isle of Wight),
Chichester Chichester () is a cathedral city and civil parish in West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton B2 edition. Publishing Date:2009. It is the only ci ...
,
Marlborough Marlborough may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Marlborough, Wiltshire, England ** Marlborough College, public school * Marlborough School, Woodstock in Oxfordshire, England * The Marlborough Science Academy in Hertfordshire, England Austral ...
and
West Looe West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...
, and was made a member of the English
Privy Council A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
in 1692. Ranelagh was expelled from the Commons in 1703 when discrepancies were found in his accounts as Paymaster, and he was discovered to have appropriated more than £900,000 of public funds.


Family and later life

Ranelagh was well known in his time for enjoying life. He had a wife,
Margaret Cecil Margaret Cecil, Countess of Ranelagh (1672/1673 – 21 February 1728) was an English courtier. The Countess was one of the "Hampton Court Beauties" painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller for Queen Mary II. Family Lady Margaret was the daughter of Jame ...
, and three daughters by his first wife Elizabeth Willoughby, but there are suggestions that he was at least bisexual, and that he led a rakish life. He was known for his building works in terms of homes, his involvement with the building of
Chelsea Hospital The Royal Hospital Chelsea is a retirement home and nursing home for some 300 veterans of the British Army. Founded as an almshouse, the ancient sense of the word "hospital", it is a site located on Royal Hospital Road in Chelsea, London, Che ...
and his adjacent home Ranelagh house, which no longer exists but whose associated pleasure gardens were later transferred to the hospital and still bear his name. His country estate was
Cranbourne Lodge Cranbourne Lodge was a keeper's lodge for the royal hunting grounds of Cranbourne Chase, once adjoining but now part of Windsor Great Park in the English county of Berkshire. All that remains of it today is the Grade II* listed Cranbourne Tower ...
, now in the Great Park at
Windsor Windsor may refer to: Places Australia * Windsor, New South Wales ** Municipality of Windsor, a former local government area * Windsor, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland **Shire of Windsor, a former local government authority around Wi ...
in
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 ...
, where he was Ranger of Cranbourne Chase. He founded
Ranelagh School Ranelagh School is a Church of England day school in Berkshire close to the centre of Bracknell. The school was founded by Lord Ranelagh in 1709. Admissions Attendance is limited to Church of England children whose parents attend church at l ...
at nearby Cranbourne (since moved to
Bracknell Bracknell () is a large town and civil parish in Berkshire, England, the westernmost area within the Greater London Built-up Area, Greater London Urban Area and the administrative centre of the Bracknell Forest, Borough of Bracknell Forest. It l ...
). Ranelagh died in 1712 and due to his lack of a legitimate male heir his earldom became extinct, and the viscountcy dormant. His son with Elizabeth, Edward Jones, styled Lord Navan, had died, age 3, on 29 March 1678.


Irish Properties

Richard Earl of Ranelagh owned very substantial properties in Co. Roscommon including the town of Roscommon, in Co.Dublin, Co. Meath and Co. Westmeath in the year 1704.Lease at Herefordshire record Office


References

*
18th Century British Parliamentary Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ranelagh, 1st Earl 1641 births 1712 deaths Jones, Richard Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Earls in the Peerage of Ireland Jones, Richard Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies People from Windsor, Berkshire English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 Jones, Richard Members of Parliament for the Isle of Wight Members of the Parliament of England for Plymouth