Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace (1564 – 22 April 1634) of Hurley, Berkshire 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 1601 and 1622. He was raised to the peerage as

Baron Lovelace Baron Lovelace, of Hurley, Berkshire, Hurley in the Berkshire, County of Berks, was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created on 31 May 1627 for Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace, Sir Richard Lovelace, who had earlier represented Berk ...

in 1627. Lovelace was born the son of Richard Lovelace and his wife, Anne, the daughter of Richard Warde of Hurst, also in Berkshire. He was educated at

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

in 1584, knighted in 1599, and succeeded his father in 1602. John de Gritz Margaret of Lovelace

Lovelace became a soldier and commanded a force under the

Lord Deputy 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 ...

in Ireland, after which he was knighted in Dublin by the

Earl of Essex Earl of Essex is a title in the Peerage of England which was first created in the 12th century by King Stephen of England. The title has been recreated eight times from its original inception, beginning with a new first Earl upon each new cre ...

. His association with the earl led to a brief period of imprisonment on charges of plotting against Queen Elizabeth I but he was released without charge. He was elected to 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 ...

to represent

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

in 1601, Abingdon in 1604, New Windsor in 1614 and Berkshire again in 1621. He was selected

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff#United King ...

for 1610–11 and for Oxfordshire for 1626–27. In 1627 he was created

of Hurley by Charles I. Lovelace died in Hurley in 1634. He had married twice: firstly, Katherine, daughter of Sir George Gyll and widow of William Hyde of Denchworth in Berkshire (now

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire ( ; abbreviated ''Oxon'') is a ceremonial county in South East England. The county is bordered by Northamptonshire and Warwickshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the east, Berkshire to the south, and Wiltshire and Glouceste ...

) (no children) and, secondly, Margaret, daughter and co-heir of a rich merchant, William Dodworth, with whom he had four sons and five daughters. The eldest son was his heir

John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace John Lovelace, 2nd Baron Lovelace (February 1616 – 25 November 1670) was an English peer and Royal servant. Life John was born in Hurley, Berkshire the son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovelace and his wife, Margaret, the daughter of Lon ...

and a daughter Elizabeth married the regicide Henry Marten. His son Francis should not be confused with the person of the same name who became the second Governor of the New York colony but who was however the grandfather of

John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace John Lovelace, 4th Baron Lovelace (16721709) was the Governor of both New York and New Jersey. Biography He was the son of William Lovelace of Hurst, Berkshire. He was the grandson of Francis Lovelace, son of Richard Lovelace, 1st Baron Lovela ...

, who was a later Governor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lovelace, Richard, 1st Baron 1564 births 1634 deaths People from Hurley, Berkshire High sheriffs of Berkshire High sheriffs of Oxfordshire Alumni of Merton College, Oxford 16th-century English nobility Members of the Parliament of England for Berkshire 17th-century English knights 1 Richard, Baron 1st English MPs 1601 English MPs 1604–1611 English MPs 1614 English MPs 1621–1622