Sir Richard Bulkeley (1533 – 28 June 1621) of Beaumaris, Anglesey and

Lewisham Lewisham ( ) is an area of southeast London, England, south of Charing Cross. It is the principal area of the London Borough of Lewisham, and was within the Historic counties of England, historic county of Kent until 1889. It is identified in ...

, was a Welsh politician and courtier of Elizabeth Tudor, who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

in 1563 and from 1604 to 1614.

Life

Bulkeley was the eldest son of Sir Richard Bulkeley, of Beaumaris and Anglesey by his first wife, Margaret ( Savage). He was appointed Constable of Beaumaris Castle in 1561 and elected the first Mayor of Beaumaris in 1562. In 1563, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Anglesey Anglesey ( ; ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms the bulk of the Principal areas of Wales, county known as the Isle of Anglesey, which also includes Holy Island, Anglesey, Holy Island () and some islets and Skerry, sker ...

, a position he obtained through the influence of his father. He was appointed High Sheriff of Anglesey for 1570. His father's sudden death gave rise to much scandal: he was on very bad terms with his stepmother Agnes Needham and accused her of poisoning his father. While Agnes had undoubtedly been unfaithful to her husband, there is no evidence that she was guilty of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

, and the jury acquitted her. Bulkeley was knighted in

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, London in 1577, and became embroiled in various power struggles in

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

including with the

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. History Earl ...

and Owen Wood of Rhosmor. Wood accused him of oppressing the townspeople of Beaumaris, and being involved with the 1586

Babington plot The Babington Plot was a plan in 1586 to assassinate Queen Elizabeth I, a Protestantism, Protestant, and put Mary, Queen of Scots, her Catholic Church, Catholic cousin, on the English throne. It led to Mary's execution, a result of a letter s ...

. Bulkeley was exonerated by the Privy Council on these charges, but was censured in the

Star Chamber The court of Star Chamber () was an English court that sat at the royal Palace of Westminster, from the late to the mid-17th century (), and was composed of privy counsellors and common-law judges, to supplement the judicial activities of the ...

for molesting Wood. He is known for being a courtier of Queen Elizabeth, and entertained her in

– see Honor Oak. She appointed him one of the Council of the Marches of Wales in 1602. In 1604 Bulkeley was elected MP for Anglesey again and was re-elected in 1614.W R Williams ''The Parliamentary History of the Principality of Wales''
/ref> He was one of the Council of the Marches of Wales again in 1617. In 1618, he founded the family seat at Baron Hill. Bulkeley was buried at Beaumaris on 28 June 1621, aged 88 and was succeeded by his son Richard.

Family

Bulkeley married twice: firstly Catherine (who died 1573), the daughter of Sir William Davenport Kt. of Bramhall Hall, Cheshire, and secondly on 18 February 1576 Mary, the daughter of William Burgh, 2nd Baron Burgh of Gainsborough, de jure 6th Baron Strabolgi and his wife Lady Katherine Clinton, daughter of Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln. His son, Thomas, was created Viscount Bulkeley in 1644, in recognition of his support for the Royalist cause. Three successive viscounts carried the forename Richard. Bulkeley's younger half-brother was Lancelot Bulkeley, later

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

. Of his daughters, Catherine married Sir Edwin Sandys (1561–1629) and Penelope married Sir Edwin Sandys (1591–1623), Catherine's husband being the uncle of Penelope's husband.

References

External links

''History of Parliament: BULKELEY, Richard I (d.1621), of Beaumaris, Anglesey and Lewisham, Kent.''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulkeley, Richard 1533 births 1621 deaths

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales High sheriffs of Anglesey 17th-century English knights English MPs 1563–1567 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 People from Beaumaris