Richard Wenman, 1st Viscount Wenman (1573–1640), was an English soldier and 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 ...

between 1621 and 1625. He was created Viscount Wenman in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

in 1628.

Life

Wenman was the eldest son of Thomas Wenman (died 1577) of Thame Park,

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 ...

, and his wife Jane West, daughter of

William West, 1st Baron De La Warr William West, 1st Baron De La Warr ( ) of the second creation ( – 30 December 1595) was the elder son of Sir George West (d.1538), second son of Thomas West, 8th Baron De La Warr, by his third wife, Eleanor Copley, and Elizabeth Morton, wido ...

, who married at St Dunstan in the West, London on 9 June 1572. His father is mistakenly called Richard by Burke. Following his father's death, his mother remarried to James Cressy of

Beaconsfield Beaconsfield ( ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, northwest of central London and southeast of Aylesbury. Three other towns are within : Gerrards Cross, Amersham and High Wycombe. The ...

(died 1581), then (in January 1587/88) to Thomas Tasburgh of Hawridge, Buckinghamshire (died 1602–03), and lastly to Ralph Sheldon, Esquire (1537-1613) of

Beoley Beoley is a small village and larger civil parish north of Redditch in the Bromsgrove District of Worcestershire. It adjoins Warwickshire to the east. The 2021 census gave a parish population of 984, mostly at Holt End. The parish includes the ...

, Worcestershire.'iv. Jane West', in D. Richardson, ed. K.G. Everingham, ''Magna Carta Ancestry: A Study in Colonial and Medieval Families'', 4 vols, 2nd Edn (Salt Lake City, 2011), IV
p. 325
(Google). Dame Jane Tasburghe ( West)'s last will and testament was proved in 1621. Richard Wenman matriculated at the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

on 8 December 1587 as 'Mr. Case's scholar.' Wenman served as a volunteer soldier and behaved with great gallantry when Cadiz was captured in 1596. He was knighted by

Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, he was placed under house arrest following a poor campaign in Ireland during th ...

, at Cadiz.Knights of England
/ref> Wenman was elected Member of Parliament for

on 20 December 1620, and was elected again in 1625. In 1627 he was

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

. He was created Baron Wenman of

Kilmainham Kilmainham (, meaning " St Maighneann's church") is a south inner suburb of Dublin, Ireland, south of the River Liffey and west of the city centre. It is in the city's Dublin 8 postal district. History Origins Kilmainham's foundation dates ...

County Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

, and Viscount Wenman of

Tuam Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...

by letters patent, dated 30 July 1628. Wenman was a patron of the poet

William Basse William Basse (c.1583–1653?) was an English poet. A follower of Edmund Spenser, he is now remembered principally for an elegy on Shakespeare. He is also noted for his " Angler's song", which was written for Izaak Walton, who included it in '' ...

, who dedicated several poems to him, including his collection ''Clio'', describing him as a modern

Maecenas Gaius Cilnius Maecenas ( 13 April 68 BC – 8 BC) was a friend and political advisor to Octavian (who later reigned as emperor Augustus). He was also an important patron for the new generation of Augustan poets, including both Horace and Virgil. ...

, :Never Maecenas bred more nobly true: :And O what virtue more, than life to give :To verse, whereby all other virtues live?

Death

Wenman died on 3 April 1640, and was buried at Twyford on 7 April.

Family

Wenman married four times. His first wife was Agnes Fermor. By her he had two surviving sons, Thomas Wenman, 2nd Viscount Wenman, and Philip (died 20 April 1696), who succeeded as third viscount; and four daughters. After her death, he married Alice Chamberlayne, widow of Robert Chamberlayne and a lady of some wealth, on 4 November 1618 at St. Bartholomew the Great, London. His third wife, Elizabeth, was buried at Twyford on 27 April 1629. His fourth wife was Mary Keble, daughter of Thomas Keble of Essex, and she was buried at Twyford on 28 July 1638.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wenman, Richard 1573 births 1640 deaths 16th-century English soldiers 17th-century English soldiers Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by Charles I High sheriffs of Oxfordshire English landowners English MPs 1597–1598 English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1625