Sir Edward Darcy (Darcey, Darsey; 1543/1544 – 28 October 1612) was an English politician and courtier. His

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek and ) is a market in which one person or company is the only supplier of a particular good or service. A monopoly is characterized by a lack of economic Competition (economics), competition to produce ...

by way of having a wide

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an sufficiency of disclosure, enabling discl ...

on playing cards was declared illegal in 1602. He has an alternative title: Sir Edward Darcy/Darcey/Darsey of Stainforth,

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

Background and career

Darcy was the eldest son of Mary Carew (daughter of Sir Nicholas Carew) and of Sir Arthur Darcy (the son of

Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy of Darcy Thomas Darcy, 1st Baron Darcy of Darcy or of Temple Hurst ( 1467 – 30 June 1537) was an English nobleman, the only son, and heir, of Sir William Darcy (1443 – 30 May 1488) and his wife, Euphemia Langton, the daughter of Sir John Langton. Darc ...

). He was educated at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

before being admitted to the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1561. He was a Member of Parliament for

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, Cornwall from 1584 to 1585. In 1579 he was a

groom of the Privy Chamber A bridegroom (often shortened to groom) is a man who is about to be married Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obli ...

Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudo ...

. In 1589 the Queen granted the reversion of the manors of

Epsom Epsom is a town in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain ...

and

Ashtead Ashtead is a village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 road (Great Britain), A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on the northern sl ...

to him as Sir Francis Carew's nephew, which matured in 1612 on the latter's death. In 1595 he received the manor of Stainforth Underbargh and 20 dwelling houses with lands there. Queen Elizabeth granted Darcy an exclusive patent in 1598 for the manufacture, importation, and sales of playing cards. The Court of Queen's Bench four years later, held the patent invalid in the landmark case Darcy v Allein ("The Case of Monopolies"). Knighted on 23 April 1603, Sir Edward died 28 October 1612, aged 69.

Family

Edward Darcy married Elizabeth, a daughter of Thomas Astley of

Writtle Writtle is a village and civil parish west of Chelmsford, Essex, England. It has a traditional village green complete with duck pond and a Norman church, and was once described as "one of the loveliest villages in England, with a ravishing va ...

, another groom of Elizabeth's privy chamber, in July 1579.Arthur Collins, ''Jewels and Plate of Elizabeth I'' (London, 1955), p. 441 no. 872
'DARCY, Edward (1543-1612), of Dartford Place, Kent', ''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1558-1603'', ed. P.W. Hasler, 1981
/ref> Their children included: *Robert Darcy M. Mary d. 1618; **Edward Darcy (parted with manors); *Christopher Darcy D. 1623; *Isabella Darcy (1600-1669), married John Launce (b. abt. 1597) around 1619, son of Robert Launce and Susan Tubb.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darcy, Edward 1540s births 1612 deaths People from Stainforth, South Yorkshire Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Inner Temple English MPs 1584–1585 17th-century English knights Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 17th-century English politicians 17th-century English businesspeople