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Sir Richard Edgcumbe (1499 – 1 February 1562) was an English courtier and politician.


Family

Richard Edgcumbe was the eldest son of Sir Peter (or Piers) Edgcumbe (1477 – 14 August 1539) of
Cotehele Cotehele is a medieval house with Tudor additions, situated in the parish of Calstock in the east of Cornwall, England, and now belonging to the National Trust. It is a rambling granite and slate-stone manor house on the banks of the River T ...
,
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, and his first wife, Jane Derneford (d. before 1525), daughter and heir of James Derneford of Stonehouse,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
, and widow of Charles Dynham of
Nutwell Nutwell in the parish of Woodbury on the south coast of Devon is a historic manor and the site of a Georgian neo-classical Grade II* listed mansion house known as Nutwell Court. The house is situated on the east bank of the estuary of the Ri ...
,
Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...
. By his father's first marriage, Richard Edgcumbe had two brothers and three sisters. His mother, Jane, died before 1525, and his father married Catherine St John, the daughter of Sir John St John of Bletsoe, and widow of Sir Gruffudd ap Rhys of
Carmarthen Carmarthen (, ; , 'Merlin's fort' or possibly 'Sea-town fort') is the county town of Carmarthenshire and a community (Wales), community in Wales, lying on the River Towy north of its estuary in Carmarthen Bay. At the 2021 United Kingdom cen ...
.


Career

Edgcumbe and his brother entered
Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...
on 2 February 1517. Edgcumbe's grandson, Richard Carew, says that he studied at Oxford, but of this there is no other record. He was among the knights created by
Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford Edward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, 1st Baron Beauchamp, KG (22 May 1539 – 6 April 1621), of Wulfhall and Totnam Lodge in Great Bedwyn, Wiltshire, of Hatch Beauchamp in Somerset, of Netley Abbey, Hampshire, and of Hertford House, Ca ...
, 18 October 1537, and two years later he succeeded to his father's estates. On a portion of the Stonehouse property, which had come into the family through his mother, and which Sir Piers had already emparked, he built the house named by him Mount Edgcumbe, which was completed in 1553. He was elected Member of Parliament for
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
in 1542 and 1547. He was
High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Kings's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...
for 1543 and 1552,
High Sheriff of Cornwall Sheriffs and high sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list: The right to choose high sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall. The Privy Council of the United Kingdom, Privy Council, chaired by the sovereign, chooses the sheriff ...
for 1556 and in 1557 was named commissioner of muster in Cornwall to call out and arm three hundred men. In April 1558 he was commissioned to command the
Militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
of the Devonshire Hundreds around Plymouth Haven.Walrond, pp. 6–9. He was complimented by
Thomas Cromwell Thomas Cromwell (; – 28 July 1540) was an English statesman and lawyer who served as List of English chief ministers, chief minister to King Henry VIII from 1534 to 1540, when he was beheaded on orders of the king, who later blamed false cha ...
on the lucidity of the reports which he sent up from quarter sessions. He prided himself on his housekeeping, taking care to always have in hand two years' provision of all things necessary for himself and his family, and he kept in a chest for current needs a sum of money which he never allowed to fall below £100. His hospitality earned him the name of ‘the good old knight of the castle.’ He died on 1 February 1562, as is shown by the inquisition on his will, and was buried in Maker Church under a tombstone, the inscription on which states that he died 1 December 1561.


Marriages and issue

Edgcumbe married firstly, about 1516, Elizabeth Arundell, the daughter of Sir John Arundell (c. 1474 – 8 February 1545) of Lanherne,
Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...
, by his first wife, Lady Eleanor Grey, the daughter of
Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, 1st Earl of Huntingdon, 7th Baron Ferrers of Groby, (145520 September 1501) was an English nobleman, courtier and the eldest son of Elizabeth Woodville and her first husband Sir John Grey of Groby. Her seco ...
, and his second wife,
Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington, 2nd Baroness Bonville (30 June 1460 – 12 May 1529) was an English peer, who was also Marchioness of Dorset by her first marriage to Thomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, and Countess of Wiltshire by her s ...
. There were no issue of the marriage. He married secondly, in 1535, Elizabeth Tregian, the daughter of John Tregian of Golden, Cornwall, by whom he had four sons, including Peter Edgcumbe and Richard Edgcumbe, and four daughters. He married thirdly, Winifred Essex, the daughter of Sir William Essex of
Lambourn Lambourn is a village and civil parish in Berkshire, England. It lies just north of the M4 Motorway between Swindon and Newbury, and borders Wiltshire to the west and Oxfordshire to the north. After Newmarket it is the largest centre of r ...
,
Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...
. There were no issue of his third marriage. Piers (or Peter Edgcumbe), the eldest son (1536–1607), was sheriff of Devon in 1566 and Cornwall in 1569, and represented Cornwall county in the parliaments of 1562–3, 1572, 1588, and 1592, and Liskeard borough in those of 1584 and 1586. Richard, the second son, was M.P. for Totnes 1562–3.


Notes


References

* * * * * Col Henry Walrond, ''Historical Records of the 1st Devon Militia (4th Battalion The Devonshire Regiment), With a Notice of the 2nd and North Devon Militia Regiments'', London: Longmans, 1897/Andesite Press, 2015, ISBN 978-1-37617881-4. Attribution *


External links


Sir Peter Edgecombe (1468/9-1539), History of Parliament Peter Edgecombe (1536-1608), History of Parliament Richard Edgecombe, History of Parliament
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgcumbe, Richard 1499 births 1562 deaths High sheriffs of Devon High sheriffs of Cornwall Devon Militia officers Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1547–1552