Richard Leveson (1598–1661)
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Sir Richard Leveson KB (25 May 1598 – 2 June 1661) was an English politician who sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
from 1640 to 1642.The History of Parliament Trust, Leveson, Richard (1598–1661)
retrieved December 2017
He supported the
Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...
cause during the
English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...
. Leveson was the second son of Sir John Leveson of
Halling, Kent Halling is a village on the North Downs in the northern part of Kent, England. Consisting of Lower Halling, Upper Halling and North Halling, it is scattered over some along the River Medway parallel to the Pilgrims' Way which runs through Kent ...
, and his second wife Christian Mildmay, daughter of Sir Walter Mildmay. In 1605 he inherited property in
Trentham, Staffordshire Trentham () is a suburb of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in North Staffordshire, England, south-west of the city centre and south of the neighbouring town of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is separated from the main urban area by open space and by the Tre ...
and
Lilleshall Lilleshall is a village and civil parish in the Telford and Wrekin borough of Shropshire, England. It lies between the towns of Telford and Newport, on the A518, in the Wrekin constituency. There is one school in the centre of the village. ...
,
Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...
from his father's cousin Sir Richard Leveson, Vice-Admiral of England. Leveson's elder brother, John, who was intended to inherit his father's estates, died in 1612, three years before his father. Leveson therefore inherited his father’s estates in
Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
as well as the Vice-Admiral's estates. He rebuilt the family seat at
Trentham Hall Trentham Estate in the village of Trentham, Staffordshire, England, is a visitor attraction on the southern fringe of the city of Stoke-on-Trent. History The estate was first recorded in the Domesday Book in 1086. At the time it was a royal ...
between 1630 and 1638 at a cost of over £6,000.Staffordshire Past Track – Sutherland in Context
/ref> His Staffordshire relatives included Colonel Thomas Leveson, who held
Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruins, ruined castle, fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Originally, a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortifica ...
for
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
from 1643 to 1646, and was one of 25 former Royalists listed by Parliament in 1651 as subject to "perpetual banishment and confiscation". He was made a
Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...
at the coronation of
Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...
in 1626. In November 1640, Leveson was elected Member of Parliament for
Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...
in the
Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...
. He encouraged Royalist support in Staffordshire and was disabled from sitting in parliament on 24 November 1642 for raising forces against parliament. From 1643 to 1645 he served in the royalist army as a colonel of horse. In 1645
Lilleshall Abbey Lilleshall Abbey was an Augustinians, Augustinian abbey in Shropshire, England, today located north of Telford. It was founded between 1145 and 1148 and followed the austere customs and observance of the Arrouaise, Abbey of Arrouaise in northe ...
fell to the parliamentary army and Leveson was imprisoned at the Parliamentary garrison in
Nantwich Nantwich ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East in Cheshire, England. It has among the highest concentrations of listed buildings in England, with notably good examples of Tudor and Georgian architecture ...
. He suffered the diversion of most of the proceeds of his coal and lime workings to Parliament who also imposed a heavy fine, later reduced to £3,846. After the restoration of Charles II, Leveson held command as a captain of volunteer horse in Staffordshire until his death at Lilleshall in 1661 aged 63. He was buried at St Michael's Church in Lilleshall. Leveson married Katherine Dudley, daughter of Sir Robert Dudley: the couple had no children. Lady Katherine died in 1674, and in her will, endowed almshouses and an educational fund in
Temple Balsall Temple Balsall () is a village in the civil parish of Balsall, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the English West Midlands, situated between the large villages of Knowle (where population details as taken at the 2011 census can be ...
. The Lady Katherine Leveson Foundation continues to operate in the 21st century, with the care provider Lady Katherine Housing and Care as the successor to the almshouses, and the Lady Katherine Leveson C of E Primary School taking forward her educational charity. Lady Katharine Leveson also provided the funds for the restoration of Lichfield Cathedral. Their co-heiresses were the two daughters of his elder brother John. One of them, Christian, married Sir Peter Temple of Stowe. A portrait of this Sir Richard Leveson seems to have found its way into the collection of paintings at
Stowe House Stowe House is a grade I listed building, listed country house in Stowe, Buckinghamshire, Stowe, Buckinghamshire, England. It is the home of the Private schools in the United Kingdom, private Stowe School and is owned by the Stowe House Preserv ...
,
Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...
. A portrait of Sir Richard Leveson, said to be by
van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of Frans van Dyck, a wealt ...
, belonged to the Duke of Sutherland in 1891. This portrait was purchased for £65 02s 00d from the sale of the possessions of the
Dukes of Buckingham and Chandos Duke of Buckingham, referring to the market town of Buckingham, England, is an extinct title that has been created several times in the peerages of Peerage of England, England, Peerage of Great Britain, Great Britain, and the Peerage of the Uni ...
held at Stowe House in 1848. It was described in the sale catalogue as by Van Dyck (whereas other paintings are described as "after Van Dyck" or a "copy of Van Dyck"). The catalogue records that Sir Richard is shown "in a black dress, with a frill" and that the painting was bought "after a very active competition".


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leveson, Richard 1598 births 1661 deaths English MPs 1640–1648
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 ...
Cavaliers Members of the Parliament of England for Newcastle-under-Lyme