Sir Richard Cotton (in or before 1497 – 1556), was a courtier in the court of

Henry VIII of England Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. His disa ...

. He came from

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

and began his career as a lawyer before entering the king's service. His elder brother George Cotton was in charge of the

household A household consists of two or more persons who live in the same dwelling. It may be of a single family or another type of person group. The household is the basic unit of analysis in many social, microeconomic and government models, and is i ...

of the king's son Henry, Duke of Richmond at

Sheriff Hutton Castle :''not to be confused with Hutton Castle in the Scottish Borders'' Sheriff Hutton Castle is a ruined quadrangular castle in the village of Sheriff Hutton, North Yorkshire, England. The site of the castle is north of York, and south-east of ...

, and Richard served there as comptroller. The king granted him property in

Bedhampton Bedhampton is a former village, and now suburb, located in the Borough of Havant, Hampshire, England. It is located at the northern end of Langstone Harbour and at the foot of the eastern end of Portsdown Hill. Early mentions of Bedhampton are ...

, Hampshire and

Bourne, Lincolnshire Bourne is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England. It lies on the eastern slopes of the limestone Kesteven Uplands and the western edge of the Fens, 11 miles (18 km) north-east of Stamford, 12 mil ...

. He became privy councillor in May 1552. He was

knight of the shire Knight of the shire ( la, milites comitatus) 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 Redistributio ...

for

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

in 1553 and Cheshire in 1554.

References

* * Birkbeck, J.D. A History of Bourne.(1976) * Davies, Catharine. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 1490s births 1556 deaths Year of death unknown Year of birth uncertain Politicians from Shropshire People from Bourne, Lincolnshire English MPs 1553 (Edward VI) English MPs 1554–1555 Members of the Privy Council of England People from the Borough of Havant Household of Henry Fitzroy {{16thC-England-MP-stub