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Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was
Lord Chancellor The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...
during King
Edward VI of England Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated
almshouses An almshouse (also known as a bede-house, poorhouse, or hospital) is charitable organization, charitable public housing, housing provided to people in a particular community, especially during the Middle Ages. They were often built for the povert ...
in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
in 1564. He was a beneficiary of the Dissolution of the Monasteries, and persecuted perceived opponents of the king and their policies. He played a role in the trials of Catholic martyrs
Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...
and John Fisher as well as that of Protestant martyr Anne Askew.


Origins

According to some sources, Rich was born in the London parish of St Lawrence Jewry, the second son of Richard Rich by Joan Dingley, but this is disputed. Also, according to Carter, he was born at
Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...
,
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, ...
, the son of John Rich (d. 1509?), of Penton Mewsey,
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 a wife named Agnes whose surname is unknown. In 1509, Richard inherited his father's house in
Islington Islington ( ) is an inner-city area of north London, England, within the wider London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's #Islington High Street, High Street to Highbury Fields ...
,
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
. Early in 1551 he was described in an official document as "fifty-four years of age and more", and was therefore born about 1496 or earlier. According to Sergeaunt (1889): He had a brother, Robert, whom
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
granted a
messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...
in Bucklersbury on 24 February 1539, and who died in 1557.


Career

Little is known of Rich's early life. He may have studied at Cambridge before 1516. That year, he entered the
Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...
as a lawyer and at some point between 1520 and 1525 he was a reader at the
New Inn New Inn () is a village and community directly south east of Pontypool, within the County Borough of Torfaen in Wales, within the historic boundaries of Monmouthshire. It had a population of 5,986 at the 2011 Census. Location The village is bo ...
. By 1528 Rich was in search of a patron and wrote to
Cardinal Wolsey Thomas Wolsey ( ; – 29 November 1530) was an English statesman and Catholic cardinal. When Henry VIII became King of England in 1509, Wolsey became the king's almoner. Wolsey's affairs prospered and by 1514 he had become the controlling f ...
; in 1529, Thomas Audley succeeded in helping him get elected as an MP for
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...
. As Audley's career advanced in the early 1530s, so did Rich's, through a variety of legal posts, before he became truly prominent in the mid-1530s. Other preferments followed, and in 1533 Rich was knighted and became the
Solicitor General for England and Wales His Majesty's Solicitor General for England and Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the law officers of the Crown in the government of the United Kingdom. They are the deputy of the Attorney General for England and Wales ...
in which capacity he was to act under
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 ...
as a "lesser hammer" for the demolition of the monasteries, and to secure the operation of
Henry VIII Henry VIII (28 June 149128 January 1547) was King of England from 22 April 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is known for his Wives of Henry VIII, six marriages and his efforts to have his first marriage (to Catherine of Aragon) annulled. ...
's
Act of Supremacy The Acts of Supremacy are two acts passed by the Parliament of England in the 16th century that established the English monarchs as the head of the Church of England; two similar laws were passed by the Parliament of Ireland establishing the E ...
. Rich had a share in the trials of
Thomas More Sir Thomas More (7 February 1478 – 6 July 1535), venerated in the Catholic Church as Saint Thomas More, was an English lawyer, judge, social philosopher, author, statesman, theologian, and noted Renaissance humanist. He also served Henry VII ...
and Bishop John Fisher. In both cases his evidence against the prisoner included admissions made in friendly conversation, and in More's case the words were given a misconstruction that could hardly be other than wilful. While on trial, More said that Rich was "always reputed light of his tongue, a great dicer and gamester, and not of any commendable fame." Rich also played a major part in Cromwell's fall. As King's Solicitor, Rich travelled to Kimbolton Castle in
Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...
in January 1536 to take the inventory of the goods of
Katherine of Aragon Catherine of Aragon (also spelt as Katherine, historical Spanish: , now: ; 16 December 1485 – 7 January 1536) was Queen of England as the first wife of King Henry VIII from their marriage on 11 June 1509 until its annulment on 23 May ...
, and wrote to Henry advising how he might properly obtain her possessions.


Chancellor

On 19 April 1536 Rich became the chancellor of the Court of Augmentations, established for the disposal of the monastic revenues. His own share of the spoil, acquired either by grant or purchase, included Leez (Leighs) Priory and about 100 manors in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
. Rich also acquired—and destroyed—the real estate and holdings of the Priory of St Bartholomew-the-Great in Smithfield. He was Speaker of the House of Commons in the same year, and advocated the king's policy. Despite the share he had taken in the suppression of the monasteries, the prosecution of Thomas More and Bishop Fisher and the part he played under
Edward VI Edward VI (12 October 1537 – 6 July 1553) was King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland from 28 January 1547 until his death in 1553. He was crowned on 20 February 1547 at the age of nine. The only surviving son of Henry VIII by his thi ...
and Elizabeth, his religious beliefs remained nominally Catholic. Rich was also a participant in the torture of Anne Askew, the only woman tortured at the
Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...
. Both he and Chancellor Wriothesley turned the wheels of the rack to torture her.


Baron Rich

Rich was an assistant executor of the will of King Henry VIII, and received a grant of lands. He became Baron Rich of Leez on 26 February 1547. In the next month he succeeded Wriothesley as chancellor. He supported Lord Protector Edward Seymour in his policies, including reforms in Church matters and the prosecution of his brother Thomas Seymour, until the crisis of October 1549, when he joined with John Dudley. He resigned his office in January 1552.


Prosecution of bishops

Rich took part in the prosecution of bishops Stephen Gardiner and Edmund Bonner, and had a role in the harsh treatment accorded to the future
Mary I of England Mary I (18 February 1516 – 17 November 1558), also known as Mary Tudor, was Queen of England and Ireland from July 1553 and Queen of Spain as the wife of King Philip II from January 1556 until her death in 1558. She made vigorous ...
. But upon her accession, Mary showed Rich no ill will. He took an active part in the restoration of the old religion in Essex under the new reign, and was one of the most active persecutors. His reappearances in the privy council were rare during Mary's reign, but under Elizabeth he served on a commission to inquire into the grants of land made under Mary, and in 1566 was sent for to advise on the question of the queen's marriage. He died at
Rochford Rochford is a town and civil parish in the Rochford (district), Rochford District in Essex, England, north of Southend-on-Sea, from London and from Chelmsford. At the 2011 census, the Civil parishes in England, civil parish had a population ...
in
Essex Essex ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England, and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Kent across the Thames Estuary to the ...
, on 12 June 1567, and was buried in Holy Cross Church in Felsted. In Mary's reign he founded a chaplaincy with provision for the singing of masses and dirges, and the ringing of bells in Felsted church. To this was added a
Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...
en allowance of herrings to the inhabitants of three parishes. These donations were transferred in 1564 to the foundation of Felsted School for instruction, primarily for children born on the founder's manors, in
Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
, Greek, and divinity. The patronage of the school remained in the founder's family until 1851.


Descendants

Richard Rich died in June 1567. Rich's descendants formed the powerful Rich family, lasting for three centuries, acquiring several titles in the
Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...
and intermarrying with numerous other noble families. By his wife Elizabeth Jenks (Gynkes) (d.1558) he had 15 children. Thirteen of them are shown in the Essex pedigrees. The eldest son, Robert (1537?–1581), second Baron Rich, supported the
Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...
. One grandson, Richard Rich, was the first husband of Katherine Knyvet: another, the younger Robert Rich, third Baron Rich (1559–1619) was created First Earl of Warwick (of the third creation) in 1618, and was the father of
Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...
, who was Commander of the Commonwealth Navy during the
Interregnum An interregnum (plural interregna or interregnums) is a period of revolutionary breach of legal continuity, discontinuity or "gap" in a government, organization, or social order. Archetypally, it was the period of time between the reign of one m ...
. This line failed with the death of the 8th Earl on 7 September 1759. Rich had an illegitimate son named Richard (d. 1598) whom he acknowledged fully in his will with legacies and guardians for his minority, his education in the common law, and suitable marital arrangements. In this line of descent was his grandson the merchant adventurer Sir Nathaniel Rich, and his great-grandson Nathaniel Rich (nephew of the elder Nathaniel), a colonel in the
New Model Army The New Model Army or New Modelled Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 t ...
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 ...
. One of his distant descendants is Rory Stewart.


Legacy

Since the mid-16th century Rich has had a reputation for immorality, financial dishonesty, double-dealing, perjury and treachery rarely matched in English history. The historian
Hugh Trevor-Roper Hugh Redwald Trevor-Roper, Baron Dacre of Glanton, (15 January 1914 – 26 January 2003) was an English historian. He was Regius Professor of Modern History (Oxford), Regius Professor of Modern History at the University of Oxford. Trevor-Rope ...
called Rich a man "of whom nobody has ever spoken a good word".


Depiction in the arts

Rich is the supporting villain in the play '' A Man for All Seasons'' by Robert Bolt, which shows his slide into corruption. In the subsequent, Oscar-winning
film adaptation A film adaptation transfers the details or story of an existing source text, such as a novel, into a feature film. This transfer can involve adapting most details of the source text closely, including characters or plot points, or the original sou ...
,
John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...
portrays him. Bolt depicts Rich as perjuring himself against More in order to become Attorney-General for Wales. More responds, "Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world ... but for Wales?" The final line of the film notes that Rich "died in his bed" in juxtaposition with More's martyrdom and the other major characters' untimely deaths. In the 1988 remake of the film, Jonathan Hackett portrayed Rich. Rich is a supporting character in
C. J. Sansom Christopher John Sansom (9 December 1952 – 27 April 2024) was a British writer of Historical mystery, historical crime novels, best known for his Shardlake series, Matthew Shardlake series. He also wrote the spy novel ''Winter in Madrid'' and ...
's Shardlake series of
historical mystery The historical mystery or historical whodunit is a subgenre of two literary genres, historical fiction and mystery fiction. These works are set in a time period considered historical from the author's perspective, and the central plot involves th ...
novels, which are set in Henry VIII's reign. Rich is portrayed as a cruel villain who is prepared to subvert justice to enhance his property and position. He has a significant role in the plot of ''Sovereign'', the third of the series, and in ''Heartstone'', the fifth. Rod Hallett played Rich in seasons two, three and four of the Showtime series ''
The Tudors ''The Tudors'' is a historical fiction television series set primarily in 16th-century England, created and written by Michael Hirst and produced for the American premium cable television channel Showtime. The series was a collaboration among ...
''. Rich (spelled Riche in the novels) appears in
Hilary Mantel Dame Hilary Mary Mantel ( ; born Thompson; 6 July 1952 – 22 September 2022) was a British writer whose work includes historical fiction, personal memoirs and short stories. Her first published novel, ''Every Day Is Mother's Day'', was releas ...
's three volumes about
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 ...
, ''
Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...
'', '' Bring Up the Bodies'' and ''
The Mirror & the Light ''The Mirror & the Light'' is a 2020 historical novel by English writer Hilary Mantel and the final novel published in her lifetime, appearing two and a half years before her death. Following ''Wolf Hall'' (2009) and '' Bring Up the Bodies'' (201 ...
''. Bryan Dick portrays him in the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
television adaptation of the first two novels, and Tom Mothersdale in the last of ''
Wolf Hall ''Wolf Hall'' is a 2009 historical novel by English author Hilary Mantel, published by Fourth Estate, named after the Seymour family's seat of Wolfhall, or Wulfhall, in Wiltshire. Set in the period from 1500 to 1535, ''Wolf Hall'' is a sym ...
''.


Notes


References

* * * * * * * *


External links


Will of Sir Richard Rich, Lord Rich, proved 3 June 1568, PROB 11/50/176, National Archives
Retrieved 1 July 2013

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rich, Richard 1st Baron Rich 1490s births 1567 deaths 16th-century English nobility Barons in the Peerage of England English Anglicans English MPs 1529–1536 English MPs 1536 English MPs 1539–1540 English MPs 1542–1544 English MPs 1545–1547 English Roman Catholics Lord chancellors of England Members of the Middle Temple Merchants from London Peers of England created by Edward VI Rich family Speakers of the House of Commons of England