Sir Richard Edgcumbe | |
|---|---|
 Arms of Edgcumbe:Gules, on a bend ermines cotised or three boar's heads couped argent | |
| Born | c. 1499 at Cotehele, Cornwall |
| Died | 1 February 1562 at Mount Edgcumbe, Cornwall |
| Buried | Buried in Church of St Julian,Maker, Cornwall |
| Spouses | Elizabeth Arundell Elizabeth Tregian Winifred Essex |
| Issue | Peter Edgcumbe Richard Edgcumbe two other sons four daughters |
| Father | Sir Peter Edgcumbe |
| Mother | Jane Derneford |
Sir Richard Edgcumbe (1499 – 1 February 1562) was an English courtier and politician.
Richard Edgcumbe was the eldest son ofSir Peter (or Piers) Edgcumbe (1477 – 14 August 1539) ofCotehele,Cornwall, and his first wife, Jane Derneford (d. before 1525), daughter and heir of James Derneford ofStonehouse,Devon, and widow of Charles Dynham ofNutwell,Devon.[1]
By his father's first marriage, Richard Edgcumbe had two brothers and three sisters. His mother, Jane, died before 1525, and his father married Catherine St John, the daughter of Sir John St John of Bletsoe, and widow ofSir Gruffudd ap Rhys ofCarmarthen.[2]
Edgcumbe and his brother enteredLincoln's Inn on 2 February 1517.[1] Edgcumbe's grandson,Richard Carew, says that he studied at Oxford, but of this there is no other record. He was among the knights created byEdward Seymour, 1st Earl of Hertford, 18 October 1537, and two years later he succeeded to his father's estates. On a portion of theStonehouse property, which had come into the family through his mother, and which Sir Piers had already emparked, he built the house named by himMount Edgcumbe, which was completed in 1553.[3]
He was electedMember of Parliament forCornwall in 1542 and 1547.[4] He wasHigh Sheriff of Devon for 1543 and 1552,High Sheriff of Cornwall for 1556[5][failed verification] and in 1557 was named commissioner of muster in Cornwall to call out and arm three hundred men. In April 1558 he was commissioned to command theMilitia of the DevonshireHundreds aroundPlymouth Haven.[6] He was complimented byThomas Cromwell on the lucidity of the reports which he sent up from quarter sessions.
He prided himself on his housekeeping, taking care to always have in hand two years' provision of all things necessary for himself and his family, and he kept in a chest for current needs a sum of money which he never allowed to fall below £100. His hospitality earned him the name of ‘the good old knight of the castle.’ He died on 1 February 1562, as is shown by the inquisition on his will, and was buried inMaker Church under a tombstone, the inscription on which states that he died 1 December 1561.[3]
Edgcumbe married firstly, about 1516, Elizabeth Arundell, the daughter ofSir John Arundell (c. 1474 – 8 February 1545) ofLanherne,Cornwall, by his first wife, Lady Eleanor Grey, the daughter ofThomas Grey, 1st Marquess of Dorset, and his second wife,Cecily Bonville, 7th Baroness Harington.[7] There were no issue of the marriage. He married secondly, in 1535, Elizabeth Tregian, the daughter of John Tregian ofGolden, Cornwall, by whom he had four sons, includingPeter Edgcumbe and Richard Edgcumbe, and four daughters. He married thirdly, Winifred Essex, the daughter of Sir William Essex ofLambourn,Berkshire. There were no issue of his third marriage.[1]
Piers (orPeter Edgcumbe), the eldest son (1536–1607), was sheriff of Devon in 1566 and Cornwall in 1569, and represented Cornwall county in the parliaments of 1562–3, 1572, 1588, and 1592, and Liskeard borough in those of 1584 and 1586. Richard, the second son, was M.P. for Totnes 1562–3.[3]
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)Attribution
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Vian, Alsager Richard (1888). "Edgcumbe, Richard (1499-1562)". InStephen, Leslie (ed.).Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 376–377.