Richard Bellew, 3rd Baron Bellew of Duleek (c.1671 – 22 March 1715) was an Irish soldier, peer and politician.

Biography

Bellew was the second son of John Bellew, 1st Baron Bellew of Duleek and Mary Bermingham. He joined his father as a supporter of James II during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

, serving as a captain and later a colonel in the Jacobite dragoon regiment of Lord Dongan. He was outlawed under the Articles of Limerick and in 1691 he joined in the

Flight of the Wild Geese The Flight of the Wild Geese was the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland ...

to France, serving briefly in the

French Royal Army The French Royal Army () was the principal land force of the Kingdom of France. It served the Bourbon dynasty from the reign of Louis XIV in the mid-17th century to that of Charles X in the 19th, with an interlude from 1792 to 1814 and another du ...

. While in France, he had a disagreement with Brigadier Maxwell and decided to return to Ireland. In 1694, Bellew succeeded his older brother, Walter, as Baron Bellew of Duleek and began attempting to have his outlawry reversed. With support from influential figures, including the Duke of Shrewsbury, Bellew was granted a pardon by

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

on 18 March 1697. On 24 June 1698, Bellew was given leave to remain in England, but it took a further year before he regained his estates. The costs of obtaining his own and his father's posthumous pardon, the encumbrances on the estate, and the many claims outstanding against both himself and his father, left him heavily in debt. In 1705, Bellew became a Protestant by conforming to the established

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

and he was summoned to attend the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

in 1707. In January 1709, he contested a by-election for the

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...

constituency in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

on the interest of his brother-in-law,

Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, 1st Duke of Lennox (29 July 167227 May 1723), of Goodwood House near Chichester in Sussex, was the youngest of the seven illegitimate sons of King Charles II, and was that king's only son by his French- ...

. A double return was made, and on 15 February 1709, the House decided that Bellew's opponent had won the seat. He contested the seat for a second time at a by-election in February 1712 and was successful but was unseated in May 1712 after an investigation found evidence of bribery and the election was declared void. At this stage, he was identified as a high

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

, but by 1714 was considered a Whig in the Irish parliament. On 13 October 1713, he was awarded a pension of £300 per year by

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 8 March 1702, and List of British monarchs, Queen of Great Britain and Irel ...

. He died in 1715 and was buried at St. Mary's Abbey, Duleek. In July 1695, he married Lady Frances Brudenell, daughter of Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell and the widow of Charles Livingston, 2nd Earl of Newburgh. Upon Bellew's death, his title was inherited by his son, John. Bellew's daughter, Dorothea, married Gustavus Hamilton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellew of Duleek, Richard, 3rd Baron Year of birth unknown 1715 deaths Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons British MPs 1710–1713 Tory members of the Parliament of Great Britain Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Irish Jacobites Irish soldiers in the army of James II of England Irish soldiers in the French Army Members of the Irish House of Lords Wild Geese (soldiers) Year of birth uncertain