Richard Edgcumbe (politician, around 1540)

Richard Edgcumbe (also Edgecombe ) (* around 1540, † after 1587) was an English politician who was once elected as a member of the House of Commons .

Richard Edgcumbe came from the Edgcumbe family , one of the leading families of the gentry of Cornwall . He was the second son of Sir Richard Edgcumbe and his second wife Elizabeth Tregian . After the death of her father in 1562, his older brother Peter inherited his extensive estates. In the general election in 1563 Richard was nominated by his brother as a member of Parliament for Borough Totnes . Since the family still had possessions and rights there, he was elected unchallenged. In 1565, however, he complained that the cost of his stay in London during the parliamentary sessions would significantly exceed his budget. He therefore demanded that the borough send another MP or pay him two shillings a day for the duration of the session . In the general election in 1571 and in the subsequent elections, he no longer ran. From about 1573 he was justice of the peace in Cornwall and from 1577 in Devon . He had to deal with lawsuits against his brother several times. After living in the old family estate Cotehele House , he seems to have left it, because in 1587 he was replaced as justice of the peace because he no longer lived in Devon. His further fate is unknown.

Edgcumbe was married, but his wife's name is unknown. He had at least one daughter who became his heir:

• Jane Edgcumbe ∞ Thomas Williams († 1638)

Web links

• PW Hasler: EDGECOMBE, Richard I (bc1540), of Cotehele, Cornw. (History of Parliament Online, Ref Volumes: 1558–1603)

Individual evidence

1. ^ History of Parliament Online: WILLIAMS, Thomas (1602-1630), of Ugborough, Devon. Retrieved August 30, 2017 .