Richard Fiennes, 7th and 1st Baron Saye and Sele (c. 1557 – 6 February 1613) was an English peer and diplomat. Fiennes was born at the family seat of Broughton Castle in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

, the son of Richard Fiennes, ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'' 6th Baron Saye and Sele and Ursula Fermor. Fiennes was admitted as Founder's Kin to

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

in 1569. In 1590, he was charged by the Privy Council to keep sixteen

recusants Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

at Broughton. He was knighted by

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

in 1592 and served as High Sheriff of Oxfordshire in 1594. In 1596, he accompanied his cousin,

Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln Henry Clinton, 2nd Earl of Lincoln, Knight of the Bath, KB (1539 – 29 September 1616) was an English peerage, peer, styled Lord Clinton from 1572 to 1585. Known for repeated accusations of extortion, abduction and arson, among other things, ...

, on a diplomatic mission to the

Landgrave of Hesse The Landgraviate of Hesse () was a Princes of the Holy Roman Empire, principality of the Holy Roman Empire. It existed as a single entity from 1264 to 1567, when it was divided among the sons of Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse. History In the early ...

. Fiennes was made Keeper of

Banbury Castle Banbury Castle was a medieval castle that stood near the centre of the town of Banbury, Oxfordshire. Historian John Kenyon notes that the castle is "remarkable for its early concentric shape".Kenyon, p. 68. History Banbury Castle was built in 11 ...

in 1603. He travelled with

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 ...

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

in 1605 on his embassy to

Albert VII, Archduke of Austria Albert VII (; 13 November 1559 – 13 July 1621) was the ruling Archduke of Austria for a few months in 1619 and, jointly with his wife, Isabella Clara Eugenia, sovereign of the Habsburg Netherlands between 1598 and 1621. Prior to this, he had ...

. Since his father's death in 1573, Fiennes had lobbied the Crown to be recognised as the

Baron Saye and Sele Baron Saye and Sele is a title in the Peerage of England held by the Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes family. The title dates to 1447 but it was recreated in 1603. Confusion over the details of the 15th-century title has led to conflicting order for ti ...

, a title that had been dormant since the second baron's death in 1471. Upon the accession of James I, Lord Burghley petitioned the king to recognise Fiennes as the legitimate successor to his ancestor's barony. In 1603, James I issued

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

confirming Fiennes and the heirs of his body as Baron Saye and Sele. However, because it was erroneously assumed that the barony of 1447 had been created by

writ of summons A writ of summons is a formal document issued by the monarch that enables someone to sit in a Parliament under the United Kingdom's Westminster system. At the beginning of each new Parliament, each person who has established their right to attend ...

, the succession was altered from that of ''heirs male'' to those of ''heirs general'', thereby allowing the title to pass through daughters. Additionally, the 1603 patent effectively created a new title for Fiennes, and barred him from claiming the precedence and privilege of the 1447 creation. Despite the resulting loss of pride for the family, they yielded in order to secure the title. He married (circa 1581) firstly Constance Kingsmill, the eldest daughter of Sir William Kingsmill of Sidmonton, north

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, and secondly Elizabeth (died 1632) daughter of Henry Coddingham (Auditor of the Mint), and widow of William Paulet. He was succeeded by his eldest son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, who was created Viscount Saye and Sele.''The Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland: The peerage of Scotland'' (W. Owen nd 2 others 1790), 296.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saye and Sele, Richard Fiennes, 7th Baron Year of birth uncertain 1613 deaths

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

High sheriffs of Oxfordshire 16th-century English diplomats People educated at Winchester College People from Banbury 7 17th-century English diplomats