Sir Richard Gough (10 October 1655 – 1728), of Edgbaston Hall, Warwickshire. and Gough House, Chelsea, was a British merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1728. Gough was the third son of John Gough of Oldfallings, in Bushbury, Staffordshire and his second wife Bridget Astley, daughter of John Astley of Wood Eaton, Staffordshire. He was brought up in business under Sir James Houblon, MP and received the mercantile advice and assistance of Sir Josiah Child. He made a great fortune trading in the East Indies and was considered to have an expert knowledge of British trade and commerce, and was second to none regarding the East India trade. He married Ann Crisp, daughter of Nicholas Crisp of Chiswick after a settlement made on 5 September 1701. In 1713 Gough became a Director of the East India Company. In 1714 he purchased 18 burgage houses at Bramber which gave him control of one of the seats there. He was knighted on. 8 January 1715. At the

1715 general election Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

he was returned as Member of Parliament for

Bramber Bramber is a former manor, village and civil parish in the Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It has a ruined mediaeval castle which was the ''caput'' of a large feudal barony. Bramber is located on the northern edge of the South Downs ...

. He voted for the septennial bill and went into opposition with

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

in 1717. and voted against the Peerage Bill. He was returned again for Bramber at the general elections of

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel ''Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), as ...

and

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

In 1717, Gough bought an estate at Edgbaston, and over ten years he rebuilt Edgbaston Hall and the church and enclosed Edgbaston Park. He died on 9 February 1728 and expected to be buried in the church at Edgbaston. He and his wife had three sons and four daughters. His eldest surviving son Henry was also an MP and became a baronet.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gough, Richard 1655 births 1728 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734