Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich
Speaker of the House of Commons | |
---|---|
In office 9 June 1536 – 18 July 1536 | |
Preceded by | Humphrey Wingfield |
Succeeded by | Nicholas Hare |
Lord Chancellor | |
In office 1547–1552 | |
Preceded by | The Lord St John |
Succeeded by | Thomas Goodrich |
Personal details | |
Born | July 1496 |
Died | 12 June 1567 Lord Chancellor of England | (aged 70)
Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was
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,[1][2] but this is disputed.[3] Also, according to Carter, he was born at Basingstoke, Hampshire, the son of John Rich (d. 1509?), of Penton Mewsey, Hampshire, and a wife named Agnes whose surname is unknown.[4] In 1509, Richard inherited his father's house in Islington, Middlesex.[4] 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.[1][4]
According to Sergeaunt (1889):[5]
The origin of the family of Lord Rich has been matter of some discussion ... The first of the family of whom there is definite information was Richard Rich, a wealthy mercer of London and Sheriff of the City in 1441. The date of his death is given by Burke as 1469, but it would seem that he has been confounded with his son John, who was buried in the Mercer’s chapel in that year. The family remained in the city, and the son of John Rich was probably also a mercer. To him was born sometime between 1480 and 1490 a son whom he named Richard.
He had a brother, Robert, whom
Career
Little is known of Rich's early life. He may have studied at Cambridge before 1516.
Other preferments followed, and in 1533 Rich was knighted and became the
As King's Solicitor, Rich travelled to
Chancellor
On 19 April 1536 Rich became the chancellor of the
Rich was also a participant in the torture of Anne Askew, the only woman tortured at the Tower of London. Both he and Chancellor Wriothesley turned the wheels of the rack to torture her.[13]
Baron Rich
Rich was an assistant executor of the
Prosecution of bishops
Rich took part in the prosecution of bishops
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 Lenten 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, Greek, and divinity. The patronage of the school remained in the founder's family until 1851.
Descendants
Rich's descendants formed the powerful Rich family, lasting for three centuries, acquiring several titles in the Peerage of England and intermarrying with numerous other noble families.
By his wife Elizabeth Jenks (Gynkes) (d.1558)
One grandson, Richard Rich, was the first husband of
Rich had an illegitimate son named Richard (d. 1598[17]) whom he acknowledged fully in his will with legacies and guardians for his minority, his education in the common law, and suitable marital arrangements.[18] 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 during the English Civil War.
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.[4] The historian Hugh Trevor-Roper called Rich a man "of whom nobody has ever spoken a good word".[19]
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, John Hurt 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's Shardlake series of historical mystery 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.
Rich (spelled Riche in the novels) appears in Hilary Mantel's three volumes about Thomas Cromwell, Wolf Hall, Bring Up the Bodies and The Mirror and the Light. Bryan Dick portrays him in the BBC television adaptation of the first two novels, Wolf Hall.
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Pollard 1896, p. 123.
- ^ Cokayne 1945, p. 774.
- ^ "History of Parliament: RICH, Richard (1496/97-1567), of West Smithfield, Mdx., Rochford and Leighs, Essex". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
- ^ a b c d Carter 2004.
- ^ Sergeaunt 1889, p. 80.
- ^ City of London, at the east end of Cheapside.
- ^ Simpson 1870, pp. 161–3.
- ^ "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
- ^ Pendrill, Colin (2000). The English Reformation: crown power and religious change, 1485–1558. p. 144.
- ^ More, Cresacre (1828). Rev. Joseph Hunter F.S.A. (ed.). The Life of Sir Thomas More. London: William Pickering. p. 263. Retrieved 14 September 2012.
- ^ Strype, John (1822). "Rich to Henry, 19 January 1535/6". Ecclesiastical Memorials. Vol. 1. Oxford. pp. 252–255.
- ^ Webb, E.A. (1921). Records of St. Bartholomew's Smithfield. Vol. 2 vols. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
- ^ Weir 1991, p. 517.
- doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23491. (Subscription or UK public library membershiprequired.)
- ^ "Notes to the diary: 1558 Pages 362-369 The Diary of Henry Machyn, Citizen and Merchant-Taylor of London, 1550-1563. O". British History Online. Camden Society, 1848. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ Thirteen of them are shown in the Essex pedigrees, W.C. Metcalfe, The Visitations of Essex in 1552, 1558, 1570, 1612 and 1634; to which are added miscellaneous Essex pedigrees, (etc)., Part 1, Harleian Society, Vol. XIII (London 1878), pp. 276–77.
- ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
: Missing or empty|title=
(help) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) - ^ Rich, Richard (1496/97–1567), of West Smithfield, Middlesex, Rochford and Leighs, Essex, History of Parliament Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- ISBN 9780226088006.
References
- Byrne, M. St. Clare; Boland, Bridget (1983). The Lisle Letters; An Abridgement. Chicago: Chicago University Press. ISBN 978-0-226-08800-6. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- Carter, P.R.N. (2004). "Rich, Richard, first Baron Rich (1496/7–1567)". doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23491. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: . Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
- Cokayne, George Edward (1945). The Complete Peerage, edited by H.A. Doubleday. Vol. X. London: St. Catherine Press. p. 774.
- Metcalfe, Walter C., ed. (1878). The Visitations of Essex. Vol. XIII. London: Harleian Society. pp. 276–7. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- Pollard, Albert Frederick (1896). Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 48. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 123–6. . In
- Sergeaunt, John (1889). A History of Felsted School. London: Simpkin, Marshall & Co. p. 80. Retrieved 30 June 2013.
- Simpson, W. Sparrow (1870). The Journal of the British Archaeological Association. London: British Archaeological Association. pp. 161–3. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- Weir, Alison (1991). The Six Wives of Henry VIII. New York: Grove Weidenfeld. p. 517.