Sir Richard Graham, 1st Baronet of Esk (c. 1583 - 28 January 1654) was an English politician elected to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

(1626 to 1629). He fought in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

for the royalist army.

Career

Graham was born eldest son of Fergus Graham (sometimes, Grahme) of Plump, Kirkandrews-upon-Esk, in Cumberland, and Lady Sybella Bell, daughter of Sir William Bell, of the Bell Clan, Scotsbrig,

Middlebie Middlebie is a hamlet and parish in the historic county of Dumfriesshire in Dumfries and Galloway, south-west Scotland. It is approximately east of Ecclefechan, and north-east of Annan, on the banks of the Middlebie Burn. Middlebie Parish c ...

. His siblings included four + younger brothers: William Graham, of Plomp; Francis Graham; Reginald Graham, of Nunnington; Matthew Graham; and one sister, Elizabeth Scott. By 1624, Graham married Lady Catharine Musgrave (~1602-1660), daughter of Sir Thomas Musgrave, of Cumcatch, Cumberland and his wife, Lady Ursula Carnaby. Together they had seven children (two sons and five daughters): Lady Agnes Johnstone (~1624-1682), married John Ambrose Johnstone, I of Poldean, Scotland (Clan Johnstone); Henrietta Maria Graham; Catherine Graham; Elizabeth Herron; Susan Carnaby. Sir Thomas Musgrave of Cumcatch and Susannah Thwaites Graham's eldest son and heir was Sir George Graham (~1625-1658), 2nd Baronet of Esk and Netherby; he married Lady Mary (Johnstone), the daughter of James Johnstone, 1st Earl of Hartfell, and Lady Margaret (Douglas); and younger son, Sir Richard Graham (1635-1711), became 1st Baronet of Norton Conyers, married Lady Elizabeth Fortescue, daughter of Col. Sir Chichester Fortescue and Lady Elizabeth (Slingsby). Graham served as

Gentleman of the Horse Gentleman of the Horse was a position in the stables department of the British Royal Court, subordinate only to the Master of the Horse. It existed from 1693 until abolished in 1782, and carried a salary of £256. The post was revived in 1828, wi ...

George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham George Villiers, 1st Duke of Buckingham, 28 August 1592 – 23 August 1628), was an English courtier, statesman, and patron of the arts. He was a favourite and possibly also a lover of King James I of England. Buckingham remained at the ...

. On 18 February 1623 he set out with Buckingham and

Prince Charles Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

, who assumed the names Tom and James Smith to travel incognito to Madrid to meet the Infanta, an expedition known as the

Spanish Match The Spanish match was a proposed marriage between Charles I of England, Prince Charles, the son of James I of England, King James I of Great Britain, and Infante, Infanta Maria Anna of Spain, the daughter of Philip III of Spain. Negotiations too ...

.Samuel Rawson Gardiner, ''Prince Charles and the Spanish Marriage 1617-23'', vol. 2 (London, 1869), p. 302. In 1624, Graham bought the manor of

Norton Conyers Norton Conyers is a civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, north of Ripon. There is no modern village in the parish. Most of the parish is occupied by the grounds of Norton Conyers House, which cover the site of a deserted medieval village. ...

in the

North Riding of Yorkshire The North Riding of Yorkshire is a subdivision of Yorkshire, England, alongside York, the East Riding and West Riding. The riding's highest point is at Mickle Fell with 2,585 ft (788 metres). From the Restoration it was used as ...

. In 1626, he was elected

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

("M.P") for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

. He was re-elected MP for Carlisle in 1628 and sat until 1629, at which time King Charles decided to rule without parliament, for eleven years. On 29 March 1629, he was entitled

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

of Esk, Cumberland.George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage Volume 2'' 1900
/ref> He purchased the estate of Netherby and the Barony of Liddell in Cumberland. During the

Wars of the Three Kingdoms The Wars of the Three Kingdoms were a series of related conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, then separate entities united in a pers ...

(1639 – 1653), Graham supported the Royalist cause. On 2 July 1644, he fought in the

Battle of Marston Moor The Battle of Marston Moor was fought on 2 July 1644, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms of 1639 – 1653. The combined forces of the English Parliamentarians under Lord Fairfax and the Earl of Manchester and the Scottish Covenanters und ...

and suffered serious injuries. Lady Catherine died 23 March 1650 and is buried at Wath Upon Dearne in Yorkshire. Graham died 28 January 1654; and buried beside his wife on 11 February 1654.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Richard 1580s births 1654 deaths English MPs 1626 English MPs 1628–1629 Cavaliers Baronets in the Baronetage of England