Sir Richard Edgcumbe (circa 1570 – 23 March 1639) of Mount Edgcumbe and of Cotehele in the parish of

Calstock Calstock () is a civil parishes in England, civil parish and a large village in south east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, on the border with Devon. The village is situated on the River Tamar south west of Tavistock, Devon, Tavistock and no ...

, both in

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

, was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

at various times between 1586 and 1629.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of Peter Edgcumbe of Mount Edgcumbe and Cotehele,

Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall. Since 1742, all the Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall. Lord Lieutenants * John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1554 * John Bourchier, 2nd ...

and a Member of Parliament by his wife Margaret Luttrell, a daughter of Sir Andrew Luttrell, feudal baron of Dunster, of

Dunster Castle Dunster Castle is a former motte and bailey castle, now a English country house, country house, in the village of Dunster, Somerset, England. The castle lies on the top of a steep hill called the Tor, and has been fortified since the late Anglo ...

in Somerset.

Career

He was a student of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1585. In 1586, Edgcumbe was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; ) is an ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) east of Bodmin. Th ...

while his father was steward of the town. In 1589, he was elected MP for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

. He was elected MP for

Grampound Grampound () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Grampound with Creed, in the Cornwall (district), Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and ...

in 1593. He was knighted in 1603 and succeeded to the estates on the death of his father in 1608. In 1614, he was elected MP for

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

in the

Addled Parliament The Parliament of 1614 was the second Parliament of England of the reign of James VI and I and sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614. Lasting only two months and two days, it saw no bills pass and was not even regarded as a parliament by contemp ...

. He was elected MP for Grampound again in 1624 for the

Happy Parliament The 4th Parliament of King James I was the fourth and last Parliament of England of the reign of James I of England, summoned on 30 December 1623, sitting from 19 February 1624 to 29 May 1624, and thereafter kept out of session with repeated pro ...

. In 1628, he was elected MP for

Bossiney Bossiney (, meaning ''Kyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 the village, ...

and sat until 1629, when King Charles decided to rule without parliament for eleven years. History of Parliament Online - Richard Edgcumbe
/ref>

Marriages and children

He married twice: Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L. (Ed.), ''The Visitations of Cornwall: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1530, 1573 & 1620''; with additions by J.L. Vivian, Exeter, 1887, p. 14

/ref> *Firstly, in 1602, to Anne Carey, a daughter of Sir George Carey (c. 1541 – 1616), George Carey (c. 1541-1616) of Cockington in the parish of Tor Mohun in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

Lord Deputy of Ireland The Lord Deputy was the representative of the monarch and head of the Irish executive (government), executive under English rule, during the Lordship of Ireland and then the Kingdom of Ireland. He deputised prior to 1523 for the Viceroy of Ireland ...

, without issue; *Secondly, in 1608, he married Mary Coteele, daughter of Sir Thomas Coteele of London, by whom he had three sons including: ** Piers Edgcumbe.

Death and burial

Edgcumbe died on 23 March 1639 at the age of about 68.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Edgcumbe, Richard 1570s births 1639 deaths English MPs 1586–1587 English MPs 1589 English MPs 1593 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1628–1629 17th-century English knights Knights Bachelor Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Totnes Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Liskeard Members of the Parliament of England for Grampound Members of the Parliament of England for Bodmin Members of the Parliament of England for Bossiney