Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich

Lord Chancellor of England

"Richard Rich" redirects here. For other uses, see Richard Rich (disambiguation).

The Right Honourable

The Lord Rich

Sketch by Hans Holbein the Younger

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| (1496-07-00)July 1496
Died| 12 June 1567(1567-06-12) (aged 70)
Rochford, Essex
Resting place| Felsted church, Essex
Occupation| Lord Chancellor of England

Arms of Rich: Gules, a chevron between three crosses botonée or

Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich (July 1496 – 12 June 1567), was Lord Chancellor during King Edward VI of England's reign, from 1547 until January 1552. He was the founder of Felsted School with its associated almshouses in Essex 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 and John Fisher as well as that of Protestant martyr Anne Askew.

## Origins

[edit]

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 Henry VIII granted a messuage in Bucklersbury[6] on 24 February 1539,[7] and who died in 1557.[1]

## Career

[edit]

Little is known of Rich's early life. He may have studied at Cambridge before 1516.[1] That year, he entered the Middle Temple as a lawyer and at some point between 1520 and 1525 he was a reader at the New Inn. By 1528 Rich was in search of a patron and wrote to Cardinal Wolsey; in 1529, Thomas Audley succeeded in helping him get elected as an MP for Colchester.[8] 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.[1]

Other preferments followed, and in 1533 Rich was knighted and became the Solicitor General for England and Wales in which capacity he was to act under Thomas Cromwell as a "lesser hammer" for the demolition of the monasteries, and to secure the operation of Henry VIII's Act of Supremacy.[citation needed] Rich had a share in the trials of Thomas More 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.[9] 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."[10] Rich also played a major part in Cromwell's fall.

As King's Solicitor, Rich travelled to Kimbolton Castle in Huntingdonshire in January 1536 to take the inventory of the goods of Katherine of Aragon, and wrote to Henry advising how he might properly obtain her possessions.[11]

### Chancellor

[edit]

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. Rich also acquired—and destroyed—the real estate and holdings of the Priory of St Bartholomew-the-Great in Smithfield.[12] 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 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. Both he and Chancellor Wriothesley turned the wheels of the rack to torture her.[13]

### Baron Rich

[edit]

Leez Priory tower in Essex

Rich was an assistant executor of the will of King Henry VIII, and received a grant of lands.[14] 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

[edit]

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|

Elizabeth, Lady Rich, by Hans Holbein the Younger.

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. 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 in Essex, 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 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

[edit]

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)[15] he had 15 children. Thirteen of them are shown in the Essex pedigrees.[16] The eldest son, Robert (1537?–1581), second Baron Rich, supported the Reformation.

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, who was Commander of the Commonwealth Navy during the Interregnum. This line failed with the death of the 8th Earl on 7 September 1759.

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. One of his distant descendants is Rory Stewart.[19]

## Legacy

[edit]

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".[20]

## Depiction in the arts

[edit]

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 & the Light. Bryan Dick portrays him in the BBC television adaptation of the first two novels, and Tom Mothersdale in the last of Wolf Hall.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e Pollard 1896, p. 123.
2. ^ Cokayne 1945, p. 774.
3. ^ "History of Parliament: RICH, Richard (1496/97-1567), of West Smithfield, Mdx., Rochford and Leighs, Essex". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 11 December 2011.
4. ^ a b c d Carter 2004.
5. ^ Sergeaunt 1889, p. 80.
6. ^ City of London, at the east end of Cheapside.
7. ^ Simpson 1870, pp. 161–3.
8. ^ "History of Parliament". History of Parliament Trust. Retrieved 17 October 2011.
9. ^ Pendrill, Colin (2000). The English Reformation: crown power and religious change, 1485–1558. p. 144.
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ Strype, John (1822). "Rich to Henry, 19 January 1535/6". Ecclesiastical Memorials. Vol. 1\. Oxford. pp. 252–255.252-255&rft.date=1822&rft.aulast=Strype&rft.aufirst=John&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Richard+Rich,+1st+Baron+Rich" class="Z3988">
12. ^ Webb, E.A. (1921). Records of St. Bartholomew's Smithfield. Vol. 2 vols. Retrieved 29 March 2009.
13. ^ Weir 1991, p. 517.
14. ^ Carter, P. R. N. "Rich, Richard". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23491. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
15. ^ "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.
16. ^ 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.
17. ^ Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. `{{cite encyclopedia}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help) (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
18. ^ Rich, Richard (1496/97–1567), of West Smithfield, Middlesex, Rochford and Leighs, Essex, History of Parliament Retrieved 30 June 2013.
19. ^ Stewart, Rory (2024). Politics On the Edge. p. 391.
20. ^ Muriel St Clare Byrne, ed. (1983). The Lisle Letters; an abridgment. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226088006.

## References

[edit]

* 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)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/23491. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.) The first edition of this text is available at Wikisource: "Rich, Richard (1496?–1567)" . 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 2013.276-7&rft.pub=Harleian+Society&rft.date=1878&rft_id=http://audio35.archive.org/stream/visitationsofess1314metc#page/276/mode/2up&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Richard+Rich,+1st+Baron+Rich" class="Z3988">
* Pollard, Albert Frederick (1896). "Rich, Richard (1496?–1567)" . In Lee, Sidney (ed.). Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 48\. London: Smith, Elder & Co. pp. 123–6.123-6&rft.pub=Smith,+Elder+&+Co&rft.date=1896&rft.aulast=Pollard&rft.aufirst=Albert+Frederick&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Richard+Rich,+1st+Baron+Rich" class="Z3988">
* 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 2013.161-3&rft.pub=British+Archaeological+Association&rft.date=1870&rft.aulast=Simpson&rft.aufirst=W.+Sparrow&rft_id=https://books.google.com/books?id=yQ0rAAAAYAAJ&pg;=PA161&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Richard+Rich,+1st+Baron+Rich" class="Z3988">
* Weir, Alison (1991). The Six Wives of Henry VIII. New York: Grove Weidenfeld. p. 517.

## External links

[edit]

* Will of Sir Richard Rich, Lord Rich, proved 3 June 1568, PROB 11/50/176, National Archives Retrieved 1 July 2013
* Luminarium Encyclopedia; England under the Tudors: Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich

Political offices

Preceded by

Sir Humphrey Wingfield

|  Speaker of the House of Commons
1536  | Succeeded by

Sir Nicholas Hare

Preceded by

William Paulet, Lord St John
(Keeper of the Great Seal)

|  Lord Chancellor
1547–1552  | Succeeded by

Thomas Goodrich
(Keeper of the Great Seal)

Peerage of England
New creation |  Baron Rich
1548–1567  | Succeeded by

Robert Rich

* v
* t
* e

Rich family tree

| | | | (Unknown)| | | | | | | | | Richard Rich
1st BR
(1496/7–1567)| | | | | | | | Elizabeth Jenks
(1510–1558)

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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Ann or Jane Machell
(b. 1557)| | Richard Rich
(illegitimate)| | | | | | | | | | | Robert Rich
2nd BR
(c. 1537–1581)| | Elizabeth Baldry
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | Robert Rich (c. 1585-1630)| | Sir Nathaniel Rich
(1585–1636)| | Honora Worlick| | Sir Edwin Rich
(1561–1600)| | Robert Rich
3rd BR
1st EW
(1559–1618)| | Penelope Devereux
(1563–1607)|
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | |
Elizabeth Hampden (died 1655)
(cousin of John Hampden)| | Colonel Nathaniel Rich
(d. c. 1701)| | Elizabeth Cholmeley
(d. 1694)| | Sir Charles Rich
1st Bt
(c. 1619–1677)| | Sir Edwin Rich
(1594–1675)| | | | |
| | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Sir Robert Rich
2nd Bt
(c. 1648–1699)| | | | | | Mary Rich
(d. 1714)| | Isabel Cope
(d. 1655)| | Henry Rich
1st BK
1st EH
(1590–1649)| | | Robert Rich
4th BR
2nd EW
(1587–1658)| | Frances Hatton
(1590–1623)| | Isabella Rich
(b. c. 1590)
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Elizabeth Griffith
(b. c. 1692–1773)| | Sir Robert Rich
4th Bt
(1685–1768)| | Sir Charles Rich
3rd Bt
(c. 1680–1706)| | | | | | | Mary Boyle

(1625–1678)| | Charles Rich
6th BR
4th EW
(1619–1673)| | Robert Rich
5th BR
3rd EW
(1611–1659)| | Lady Anne Rich
(1604–1641/42)| | Edward Montagu
2nd EM
(1602–1671)
| | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Sir Robert Rich
5th Bt
(1717–1785)| | Sir George Rich
6th Bt
(1728–1799)| | Sir James Thynne
(1605–1670)| | Lady Isabella Rich
(b. 1623)| | | Cope Rich[i]
(1634–1676)| | | Robert Rich
7th BR
5th EW
2nd EH
2nd BK
(1620–1675)| | | | | Lady Anne Montagu
(d. c. 1689)| | Robert Montagu
3rd Earl of
Manchester
(1634–1683)
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | John Campbell
1st EBH
(1636–1717)| | Lady Mary Rich
(1632–1666)| | Cope Rich[i]
(d. 1706)| | Charlotte Myddleton
(1680–1731, daughter of Sir Thomas Myddelton)| | Edward Rich
8th BR
6th EW
3rd EH
3rd BK
(1673–1701)| | Lady Elizabeth Rich
(d. 1725)| | Francis Edwardes
(d. 1725)
| | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | Earls of Breadalbane and Holland
(Campbell family)| | | | Edward Rich
10th BR
8th EW
5th EH
5th BK
(1695–1759)[ii]| | | | Edward Henry Rich
9th BR
7th EW
4th EH
4th BK
(d. 1721)| | | | | | Barons Kensington
(Edwardes family)

> Key

>   * BR: Baron Rich
>   * Bt: Baronet (Rich baronets, of London)
>   * EW: Earl of Warwick
>   * CW: Countess of Warwick
>   * BK: Baron Kensington
>   * EH: Earl of Holland
>   * EM: Earl of Manchester
>   * EBH: Earl of Breadalbane and Holland

> Boxes with heavy borders follow the progress of Rich titles.
>  Blue boxes indicate members of the family granted a new title.

Notes:

1. ^ a b Spouse not known
2. ^ Edward Rich had no sons; consequently, all of the titles Baron Rich (Earl of Warwick, Baron Kensington and Earl of Holland) expired on his death.

* v
* t
* e

English lord chancellors under the House of Tudor (1485–1603)

Henry VII
(1485–1509)|

* Thomas Rotherham (1485)
* John Alcock (1485–1486)
* John Morton (1486–1500)
* Henry Deane (1500–1502)
* William Warham (1502–1509)

Henry VIII
(1509–1547)|

* William Warham (1509–1515)
* Thomas Wolsey (1515–1529)
* Thomas More (1529–1532)
* 1st Baron Audley of Walden (1532–1544)
* 1st Earl of Southampton (1544–1547)

Edward VI
(1547–1553)|

* 1st Marquess of Winchester (1547)
* 1st Baron Rich (1547–1551)
* Thomas Goodrich (1552–1553)

Lady Jane Grey
(July 1553)|

* Thomas Goodrich (July 1553)

Mary I
(July 1553–1558)|

* Stephen Gardiner (1553–1555)
* Nicholas Heath (1555–1558)

Elizabeth I
(1558–1603)|

* Nicholas Bacon (1558–1579)
* Thomas Bromley (1579–1587)
* Christopher Hatton (1587–1591)
* 1st Baron Burghley/1st Baron Hunsdon/10th Baron Cobham/1st Earl of Dorset/Gilbert Gerard (1591–1592)
* John Puckering (1592–1596)
* 1st Viscount Brackley (1596–1603)

Italics indicate service when the Greal Seal was held in Commission

* v
* t
* e

Speakers of the House of Commons (list)

House of Commons
of England|

| 14th century|

* de Shareshull
* De la Mare
* Hungerford
* De la Mare
* Pickering
* Guildesborough
* Waldegrave
* Pickering
* Bussy
* Cheney
* Doreward
* Savage
* Redford
* Savage

|

15th century|

* Esturmy
* Tiptoft
* Chaucer
* Stourton
* Doreward
* Hungerford
* Chaucer
* Redman
* Beauchamp
* Flower
* Hunt
* Chaucer
* Baynard
* Flower
* Russell
* Walton
* Vernon
* Tyrell
* Alington I
* Tyrell
* Russell
* Hunt
* Bowes
* Tyrell
* Burley
* W. Tresham
* Burley
* W. Tresham
* Say
* Popham I
* W. Tresham
* Oldhall
* Thorpe
* Charlton
* Wenlock
* T. Tresham
* Green
* Strangeways
* Say
* Alington II
* Wood
* Catesby
* Lovell
* Mordaunt
* Fitzwilliam
* Empson
* Drury
* Englefield

16th century|

* Dudley
* Englefield
* Sheffield
* Nevill
* More
* Audley
* Wingfield
* Rich
* Hare
* Moyle
* Baker
* Dyer
* Pollard
* Broke
* Higham
* Cordell
* Gargrave
* T. Williams
* Onslow
* Wray
* Bell
* Popham II
* Puckering
* Snagge
* Coke
* Yelverton

17th century|

* Croke
* Phelips
* R. Crewe
* Richardson
* T. Crewe
* H. Finch
* J. Finch
* Glanville
* Lenthall
* Pelham
* Lenthall
* Rous (Barebones Parliament)
* Lenthall
* Widdrington (2nd Protectorate Parliament)
* Chute, Long & Bampfield (3rd Protectorate Parliament)
* Lenthall
* Grimston
* Turnour
* Charlton
* Seymour
* Sawyer
* Seymour
* Gregory
* W. Williams
* Trevor
* Powle
* Trevor
* Foley
* Littleton

18th century|

* Harley
* Smith

House of Commons
of Great Britain|

| 18th century|

* Smith
* R. Onslow
* Bromley
* Hanmer
* Compton
* A. Onslow
* Cust
* Norton
* Cornwall
* Grenville
* Addington

|

House of Commons
of the United Kingdom|

| 19th century|

* Addington
* Mitford
* Abbot
* Manners-Sutton
* Abercromby
* Shaw-Lefevre
* Denison
* Brand
* Peel
* Gully

|

20th century|

* Lowther
* Whitley
* FitzRoy
* Brown
* Morrison
* Hylton-Foster
* King
* Lloyd
* Thomas
* Weatherill
* Boothroyd
* Martin

21st century|

* Martin
* Bercow
* Hoyle

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
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National|

* Germany
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People|

* Deutsche Biographie
* DDB

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