Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet (9 January 1585 – 14 September 1645) 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 ...

at various times between 1621 and 1629. He is an ancestor of the modern day

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. Grosvenor was born at Eaton Hall,

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, reportedly the only surviving male child of 17 children. His father was Richard Grosvenor of Eaton, and his mother was Christian, the daughter of Sir Richard Brooke of

Norton Priory Norton Priory is a historic site in Norton, Runcorn, Cheshire, England, comprising the remains of an abbey complex dating from the 12th to 16th centuries, and an 18th-century country house; it is now a museum. The remains are a scheduled ...

, Cheshire. His early education was by John Bruen, a local

puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

and at the age of 13 he went to

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

. He matriculated in 1599 and graduated BA on 30 June 1602. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500–1714: Greenhill-Gysby', Alumni Oxonienses 1500–1714: Abannan-Kyte (1891), pp. 600–625. Date accessed: 28 November 2011
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Political career

In 1602 Grosvenor was

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The High Sheriff, Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the The Crown, Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law officer, law enforcement officer in th ...

. He was

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James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu * James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334� ...

Vale Royal Vale Royal was, from 1974 to 2009, a Non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in Cheshire, England. It contained the towns of Northwich, Winsford and Frodsham. History The ...

on 24 August 1617. In 1621, he was elected Member of Parliament for

. He was created

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on 23 February 1622. In 1623, he was

again and, in 1625,

High Sheriff of Denbighshire The first High Sheriff of Denbighshire was John Salusbury (died 1540s), John Salusbury, snr, appointed in 1540. The shrievalty of Denbighshire, together with that of Flintshire, continued until 1974 when it was abolished after the county and sh ...

. He was re-elected MP for Cheshire in 1626 and 1628, and sat until 1629 when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. His diary-taking has been described as meticulous and it is thought his diary taking represents some of the most complete accounts of Parliamentary debate from the period.

Incarceration

Grosvenor stood

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond, or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a person or company (a ''sure ...

for the debts of his brother-in-law, Sir Peter Daniell, but, in 1629, Daniell defaulted on his debts, and for almost ten years Grosvenor was incarcerated in the

Fleet Prison Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the River Fleet. The prison was built in 1197, was rebuilt several times, and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846. History The prison was built in 1197 off what is now ...

. Sir Richard Grosvenor died in Eaton Hall in 1645 and was buried in Eccleston Church.

Family

British_School_17th_century_-_The_Cholmondeley_Ladies_-_Google_Art_Project

Grosvenor married three times. His first marriage was in 1600, to Lettice Cholmondeley, of Cholmondeley, Cheshire. With her, he had a son and three daughters. Lettice died in 1612 and two years later he married Elizabeth Wilbraham, the daughter of Sir Thomas Wilbraham of Woodhey, Cheshire.Cust, Richard (2004)
Grosvenor, Sir Richard, first baronet (1585–1645)
, ''

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'',

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, Retrieved on 6 April 2010. Following her death in 1621 he married Elizabeth Warburton, daughter and sole heiress of Sir Peter Warburton of Grafton, also in Cheshire. His third wife died in 1627. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Sir Richard Grosvenor, 2nd Baronet. File:Arms of Grosvenor, Baronet of Eaton.svg, Coat of arms of the Grosvenor Baronets, of Eaton (1622) File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, Old Churchyard - old Grovenor family gravesite1.JPG, St Mary's Church, Eccleston – The enclosure which marks the site of the Grosvenor family vault within the demolished old church File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, Old Churchyard - old Grovenor family gravesite - plaque.JPG, St Mary's Church, Eccleston – The tablet in the enclosure marking the site of the Grosvenor family vault within the old church File:St Mary's Church Eccleston, north aisle - Grosvenors buried in the old church.JPG, St Mary's Church, Eccleston – The tablet in the new church which lists the Grosvenors buried in the demolished old church

External links

Parliamentary Archives, Papers of Sir Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet (1584-1645)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grosvenor, Richard, 1st Baronet 1585 births 1645 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford Richard Grosvenor, 1st Baronet Inmates of Fleet Prison High sheriffs of Cheshire High sheriffs of Denbighshire English MPs 1621–1622 English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629