Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet (9 January 1585 – 14 September 1645) 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 ...

politician who sat in the

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. T ...

at various times between 1621 and 1629. He is an ancestor of the modern day

Dukes of Westminster Duke of Westminster is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created by Queen Victoria in 1874 and bestowed upon Hugh Grosvenor, 3rd Marquess of Westminster. It is the most recent dukedom conferred on someone not related to the ...

. Grosvenor was born at Eaton Hall,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county tow ...

, reportedly the only surviving male child of 17 children. His father was Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, and his mother was Christian, the daughter of Sir Richard Brooke of

Norton Priory Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ...

, Cheshire. His early education was by John Bruen, a local

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to purify the Church of England of Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should become more Protestant. ...

and at the age of 13 he went to

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassical architecture, ...

. He matriculated in 1599 and graduated BA on 30 June 1602. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714: Greenhill-Gysby', Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 600–625. Date accessed: 28 November 2011
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Political career

In 1602 Grosvenor was

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

. He was

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ed by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

in Vale Royal on 24 August 1617. In 1621, he was 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 o ...

for

. He was created

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 14t ...

on 23 February 1622. In 1623, he was

again and, in 1625, High Sheriff of Denbighshire. He was re-elected MP for Cheshire in 1626 and 1628, and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. His diary-taking has been described as meticulous and it is thought his diary taking represents some of the most complete accounts of Parliamentary debate from the period.

Incarceration

Grosvenor stood

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pay ...

for the debts of his son-in-law, Peter Daniell, but, in 1629, Daniell defaulted on his debts, and for almost ten years Grosvenor was incarcerated in the Fleet Prison. Sir Richard Grosvenor died in Eaton Hall in 1645 and was buried in Eccleston Church.

Family

British_School_17th_century_-_The_Cholmondeley_Ladies_-_Google_Art_Project

Grosvenor married three times. His first marriage was in 1600, to Lettice Cholmondeley, of Cholmondeley, Cheshire. With her, he had a son and three daughters. Lettice died in 1612 and two years later he married Elizabeth Wilbraham, the daughter of Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey, Cheshire.Cust, Richard (2004)
Grosvenor, Sir Richard, first baronet (1585–1645)
, ''

Oxford Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'',

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, Retrieved on 6 April 2010. Following her death in 1621 he married Elizabeth Warburton, daughter and sole heiress of Sir Peter Warburton of Grafton, also in Cheshire. His third wife died in 1627. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet (c. 1604 – 31 January 1665) was an ancestor of the modern day Dukes of Westminster. He was the son of Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet and Lettice Cholmondley, daughter of Sir Hugh Cholmondeley. He spent ...

. File:Arms of Grosvenor baronets.svg, Coat of arms of the Grosvenor Baronets, of Eaton (1622) File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, Old Churchyard - old Grovenor family gravesite1.JPG, St Mary's Church, Eccleston – The enclosure which marks the site of the Grosvenor family vault within the demolished old church File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, Old Churchyard - old Grovenor family gravesite - plaque.JPG, St Mary's Church, Eccleston – The tablet in the enclosure marking the site of the Grosvenor family vault within the old church File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, north aisle - Grosvenors buried in the old church.JPG, St Mary's Church, Eccleston – The tablet in the new church which lists the Grosvenors buried in the demolished old church

External links

Parliamentary Archives, Papers of Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet (1584-1645)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosvenor, Richard, 1st Baronet 1585 births 1645 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet Inmates of Fleet Prison High Sheriffs of Cheshire High Sheriffs of Denbighshire English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629