Richard Ferris (died 1649, aged 67) was a wealthy merchant from

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town and civil parish in the North Devon district of Devon, England. The town lies at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool from ...

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 ...

, England who served as a Member of Parliament for

in 1640 and served twice as Mayor of Barnstaple in 1632 and 1646.Lamplugh, p. 156. He founded the Barnstaple Grammar School, otherwise known as the "Blue School".

Origins

Ferris was born at Barnstaple, the son of Philip Ferris by his wife Thomasyn Cade. The armorials displayed on his monument in St Peter's Church, Barnstaple (''Or, on a bend sable three horse-shoes argent'') are the

canting arms Canting arms are heraldry, heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. The expression derives from the latin ''cantare'' (to sing). French heralds used the term (), ...

of the ancient Ferrers family seated from the 12th century at

Bere Ferrers Bere Ferrers, sometimes called ''Beerferris'', is a village and civil parish on the Bere peninsula in West Devon in the England, English county of Devon. It is located to the north of Plymouth, on the west bank of the River Tavy. It has Bere F ...

in Devon, where they had their castle, Risdon, Tristram (d.1640), Survey of Devon, 1811 edition, London, 1811, with 1810 Additions, p. 210. which also held the manors of Churston Ferrers and

Newton Ferrers Newton Ferrers is a village and former Manorialism, manor, civil parish, civil and ecclesiastical parish, now in the parish of Newton and Noss, in the South Hams district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on a creek of the River Y ...

with many others in Devon. The Devonshire historian Pole (d.1635), stated: , and states that (i.e.

Henry II Henry II may refer to: Kings * Saint Henry II, Holy Roman Emperor (972–1024), crowned King of Germany in 1002, of Italy in 1004 and Emperor in 1014 *Henry II of England (1133–89), reigned from 1154 *Henry II of Jerusalem and Cyprus (1271–1 ...

(1154–1189)).Pole, p. 336. However the senior male line of this family is known to have died out on the death of Martin Ferrers (living during the reign of King Edward III (1327–1377)), who left three daughters and co-heiresses, who married into the families of Champernowne, Poynings and Fleming. The name ''Ferrers'' was Latinized as ''de Ferariis'', from the Latin noun ''ferrarius'' (from ''ferrum'', "iron"), meaning an iron-worker or blacksmith, alluded to by the horse-shoes in the

. The Cade family seated at Fremington were prominent merchants at nearby Barnstaple. Roger Cade (d.1618) of Barnstaple was Mayor of Barnstaple in 1591.

Career

The records of the Borough of Barnstaple record in 1630 that a payment was made by the Borough to Alexander Horwood (Mayor of Barnstaple in 1634) and Richard Ferris "for riding to Exon (i.e.

Exeter Exeter ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and the county town of Devon in South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter w ...

, Devon) about the Spanish Company".Lamplugh, p. 165, note 2 (Chapter 12). Barnstaple is particularly associated with this company, and the company's arms are shown on several monuments in St Peter's Church and also sculpted in relief on the plaster ceiling of the grand

townhouse A townhouse, townhome, town house, or town home, is a type of Terraced house, terraced housing. A modern townhouse is often one with a small footprint on multiple floors. In a different British usage, the term originally referred to any type o ...

at 62 Boutport Street, Barnstaple. In November 1640 Ferris was elected as one of the two Members of Parliament for

in the

Long Parliament The Long Parliament was an Parliament of England, English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660, making it the longest-lasting Parliament in English and British history. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened f ...

. During the

Civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

he was a "fervent Parliamentarian" and when the town of Barnstaple was "without stocke of money" he was one of those (including George Peard, Richard Beaple and Pentecost Dodderidge), who made personal financial contributions. He served twice as Mayor of Barnstaple in 1632 (before the Civil War) and for another year from September 1646, immediately after the Civil War, Sir Allen Apsley having surrendered the town to Parliamentarian forces on 14 April 1646.Lamplugh, p. 72. His second election was conducted in open air, to reduce the risk of catching the plague then ravaging the town, as is recorded in the ''Journal'' of Rev. Richard Wood, Vicar of Fremington: "Mr Ferris was elected Mayor in the marsh on the higher side of Kony Bridge by ballets". Ferris founded the grammar school at

Death, burial and monument

He died in 1649 aged 67Old Towns Books and Maps
as stated on his monument. and was buried in St Peter's Church in Barnstaple. His large mural monument with recumbent effigy survives in that church.

References

;Sources * Lamplugh, Lois, ''Barnstaple: Town on the Taw'', South Molton, 2002 * William Pole (antiquary), Pole, Sir William (died 1635),
Collections Towards a Description of the County of Devon
', Sir John-William de la Pole (ed.), London, 1791. , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferris, Richard 1580s births 1649 deaths English MPs 1640–1648 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Barnstaple Mayors of Barnstaple 17th-century English merchants

Origins

Career

Death, burial and monument

Further reading

References