Peter Edgcumbe (politician, around 1536)

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Peter Edgcumbe (also Piers Edgcumbe or Edgecombe ) (* around 1536 - † January 4, 1608 ) was an English politician. He has been elected to the House of Commons eight times .

origin

Peter Edgcumbe came from the Edgcumbe family , one of the leading gentry families of Cornwall . He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Edgcumbe from his second marriage to Elizabeth Tregian . Richard Edgcumbe was one of his siblings .

Political activity

Edgcumbe was still a minor when he was elected in the 1555 general election as MP for Borough Totnes , where his father owned extensive possessions and rights. His grandfather and father had politically supported John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford , an influential magnate from south-west England. After his death in 1555, Edgcumbe did not support Sir Anthony Kingston in the House of Commons when he voted against a government bill in the interests of Francis Russell, 2nd Earl of Bedford . In the following general election in 1558 Edgcumbe did not run again. It was only after Elizabeth I ascended the throne that Edgecombe successfully ran for Cornwall as Knight of the Shire in 1563 . After his father's death in early 1562, he inherited his extensive estates in Devon and Cornwall. From around 1561 he was Justice of the Peace in Devon and from 1569 in Cornwall. He served as Sheriff of Devon from 1565 to 1566 and Sheriff of Cornwall from 1569 to 1570. Before 1568 he was Vice Admiral in charge of coastal defense and from 1573 he served as Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall. He also held other local offices. An influential member of the gentry , he was elected Knight of the Shire for Devon in the general election in 1571 and for Cornwall in 1572, 1586, 1589 and 1593. Only in the election of 1584 did he fail to be a candidate for one of the two counties. Instead, he ran successfully for the Borough Liskeard , where he held the office of steward from about 1574 to 1587. From the 1560s, the Puritan Edgcumbe was a close political supporter of the 2nd Earl of Bedford. In the House of Commons he served on several committees and made several speeches. In the elections from 1597 onwards, however, he no longer ran, probably because of his tight financial situation, but possibly also because of his poor health.

Activity as an entrepreneur

Edgcumbe had already taken on considerable debts from his father, which he had taken on for the construction of the new family home, Mount Edgcumbe House . Edgcumbe went further into debt when he invested in tin mines on his estates from the 1560s. By 1597 he had invested an estimated £ 4,000 in mines in Cornwall and Merionethshire , but they were still not very profitable. As early as 1578 he had to sell his last rights to Borough Totnes , where the family had so far had considerable influence in the general election. Edgcumbe also financially participated in trips by privateers such as Francis Drake , Walter Raleigh or Charles Howard . In 1582 he concluded an agreement with the Portuguese rival king António von Crato . He equipped ten ships to attack Spanish ships and to trade with Brazil, but the expedition was unsuccessful. By the end of the 16th century, Edgcumbe could no longer pay the rent for the mines he had leased from the Crown. Therefore, around 1602, a large part of his property was mortgaged for six years to pay off his debts.

Family and offspring

By 1555 Edgcumbe had married Margaret Luttrell, daughter of Sir Andrew Luttrell of Dunster Castle , Somerset . With her he had five sons and four daughters, including:

  1. ⚭ Richard Trefusis († 1612)
  2. ⚭ Ambrose Manaton (1589–1651)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ MAP: Cornwall (History of Parliament Online, Ref. Vol. 1558-1603). Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
  2. ^ PW Hasler: Totnes (History of Parliament Online, Ref. Vol. 1558-1603). Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
  3. ↑ Cynthia Gaskell Brown: Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park: Guidebook , Mount Edgcumbe House and Country Park, Torpoint 2003, p. 18
  4. ↑ Paul Hunneyball: Edgcumbe, Sir Richard (c.1564-1639), of Mount Edgcumbe, Maker, Cornw. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1604-1629). Retrieved August 25, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME Edgcumbe, Peter
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Edgecombe, Peter; Edgcumbe, Piers
BRIEF DESCRIPTION English politician, Member of the House of Commons
DATE OF BIRTH around 1536
DATE OF DEATH January 4, 1608