Richard Bunny (by 1525 – 1584), of Bunny Hall,

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 109,766 in the 2021 census, up from 99,251 in the 2011 census. The city is the administrative centre of the wider Metropolit ...

and of Newland and Normanton,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, was an English politician.

Family

Bunny was the son of Richard Bunny (died 1535) and Rose Bunny, née Topcliffe, only daughter and heiress of Sir John Topcliffe of Topcliffe,

Lord Chief Justice of Ireland The Court of King's Bench (or Court of Queen's Bench during the reign of a Queen) was one of the senior courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror of the Court of King's Bench in England. The Lord Chief Justice was the most senior judge ...

(died 1513). He was educated at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

, which he entered in 1538. He married Bridget Restwold, daughter of Edward Restwold of

The Vache The Vache is an estate near Chalfont St Giles in Buckinghamshire, England. Within the estate is a monument dedicated to the memory of Captain James Cook (1728–1779), the explorer. It has been owned or occupied by, among others, Hester Fleetwood ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, and had three sons, including his namesake and fellow MP, Richard Bunny, and

Edmund Bunny Edmund Bunny (1540–1619) was an Anglican churchman of Calvinist views. Life He was born in 1540 at the Vache, the seat of Edward Restwold, his mother's father, near Chalfont St Giles, Buckinghamshire. He was the eldest son of Richard Bunny (d. ...

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

Bolton Percy Bolton Percy is a village and civil parish in the county of North Yorkshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 305 in 115 households, reducing marginally to 304 at the 2011 census. The village is about east of Tadca ...

Selby Selby is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England, south of York on the River Ouse. At the 2021 Census, it had a population of 17,193. The town was historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire; from 1974 until 2023, ...

, North Yorkshire. He disinherited Edmund, the eldest son in favour of Richard: apparently this was due to Edmund's decision to enter the Church, rather than the Law as his father wished. However, in his will, he insisted that he bore Edmund no ill-will.

Career

He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the Great Council of England, great council of Lords Spi ...

for

Bramber Bramber is a former Manorialism, manor, village and civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It has a ruined mediaeval castle which was the ''caput'' of a large English feudal barony, feudal barony. B ...

in 1547 and for

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge ( ) is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh, which c ...

in 1559. He held a number of Court offices, including the position of Treasurer of

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

1550–1554. He has removed from this office on the discovery of his record of

embezzlement Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

and

forgery Forgery is a white-collar crime that generally consists of the false making or material alteration of a legal instrument with the specific mens rea, intent to wikt:defraud#English, defraud. Tampering with a certain legal instrument may be fo ...

(charges which he always denied), and went into

exile Exile or banishment is primarily penal expulsion from one's native country, and secondarily expatriation or prolonged absence from one's homeland under either the compulsion of circumstance or the rigors of some high purpose. Usually persons ...

, using the pretext that as a staunch

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

he had incurred the disfavour of Queen Mary. On the accession of

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 ...

, he returned to England to resume his political career. Much of his time was devoted to the acquisition and management of land, although in his last will he referred to his "molestation" of his own estates. Like most landowners of the time, he was extremely litigious, even over such minor matters as a neighbour's right to erect a

pew A pew () is a long bench seat or enclosed box, used for seating members of a congregation or choir in a synagogue, church, funeral home or sometimes a courtroom. Occasionally, they are also found in live performance venues (such as the Ryman ...

in the parish church. He died on 30 April 1584 in Bolton Percy, the home of his son Edmund, to whom he left only personal property, the lands passing to the younger Richard. He explained in his will that he had decided not to leave Edmund any land, not because of any ill-feeling between them but because of the burden which would be placed on him, due to his own mismanagement of the estates. At the same time, he maintained his innocence of the charges of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

brought against him thirty years earlier, arising from his service as Treasurer of Berwick.

References

1584 deaths Politicians from Wakefield Politicians from Normanton, West Yorkshire Members of Gray's Inn Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1547–1552 English MPs 1559 Treasurers of Berwick {{1559-England-MP-stub