Richard Godfrey (1592–1642), of

New Romney New Romney is a market town in Kent, England, on the edge of Romney Marsh, an area of flat, rich agricultural land reclaimed from the sea after the harbour began to silt up. New Romney, one of the original Cinque Ports, was once a sea port, w ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

, was an English politician. 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

in 1624, 1625 and 1626. He was the son of Thomas Godfrey of

Lydd Lydd is a town and electoral ward in Kent, England, lying on Romney Marsh. It is one of the larger settlements on the marsh, and the most southerly town in Kent. Lydd reached the height of its prosperity during the 13th century, when it was a ...

and his third wife Elizabeth Allard, daughter of Richard Allard of

Biddenden Biddenden is a large, mostly agricultural and wooded village and civil parish in the borough of Ashford in Kent, England. The village lies on the Weald of Kent, north of Tenterden. It was a centre for the Wealden iron industry and clothmaking. ...

. He was educated at St. John's College, Cambridge and entered the

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 ...

. Afterwards, he spent some time travelling abroad with a party of friends. He was not a very active MP, although he earned some praise for his willingness to sit in the Commons without wages. The most memorable event of his life was when he accidentally killed a man during target practice in 1625, for which he received a royal pardon. Romney Corporation was advised that it was entitled notwithstanding the pardon to seize his goods but declined to do so, as Godfrey, if not a very active MP, was personally well-regarded. He married Mary Moyle, daughter of John Moyle of Buckwell, and had eight sons and eight daughters. He was the great-grandfather of the noted writer Sir

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele ( – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine ''The Spectator (1711), The Spectator'' alongside his close friend Joseph Addison. Early life Steel ...

, through his eldest daughter Elizabeth who married Sir William Steele,

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

References

1592 births 1642 deaths English MPs 1624–1625 English MPs 1625 English MPs 1626 Members of Parliament for New Romney People from New Romney Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge {{1626-England-MP-stub