Richard Wightwick (c. 1547–1629) was a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

clergy Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

man, co-founder of

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

. His name is also spelt Wyghtwicke. Wightwick was educated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

, where he graduated BA on 2 July 1580, MA on 4 July 1583, and

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

on 31 May 1593."Wightwicke, Richard (Wyghtwicke)" in '' Alumni Oxonienses (1500–1714)'', volume 2, 1892
Widdis-Wilshman
british-history.ac.uk, accessed 22 February 2023 In 1595, Wightwick was appointed as rector of Albury, Oxfordshire, and in 1607 as rector of

East Ilsley East Ilsley is a village and civil parish in the Berkshire Downs in West Berkshire, north of Newbury. The village is centred immediately east of the A34 dual carriageway which passes the length of the village from north to south. It has the v ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

. In 1610, Thomas Tesdale on his death gave £5,000 for six scholarships and seven fellowships at Balliol College for the benefit of men from

Abingdon School Abingdon School is an independent day and boarding school in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. It is the List of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom, twentieth oldest Independent School (UK), independent British school. In May 202 ...

. In 1623, Wightwick added to this fund, and their money was used for the conversion of

Broadgates Hall Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located on Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England and VI of Scotland, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale ...

into Pembroke College."Richard Wightwick"

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...

, www.npg.org.uk, accessed 22 February 2023 Broadgates Hall had been an

academic hall Academic Hall was the original main building of the University of Missouri. It was dedicated in 1843 and destroyed by fire in 1892. Academic Hall's six Ionic columns, today known as The Columns, stand on Francis Quadrangle as the most recog ...

for law students. King James I signed

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

to create the college in 1624, and it was named for

William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke (8 April 158010 April 1630) , of Wilton House in Wiltshire, was an English nobleman, politician and courtier. He served as Chancellor of the University of Oxford and together with King James I founded ...

, Chancellor of the university. Wightwick died in 1629. Men related to Wightwick, such as William Adams (1706–1789) were thereafter given preferential admission to Pembroke College, as ''founder's kin''.H. R. H. Southam, "Lord Clive and the Rev. Dr. Williams Adams of Shrewsbury", ''Transactions of the Shropshire Archaeological and Natural History Society'', 4th Series, vol. VII, part 1, 1918–19
pp. 4–15
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wightwick, Richard 1540s births 1629 deaths 16th-century English Anglican priests 17th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Founders of colleges of the University of Oxford People associated with Pembroke College, Oxford