Richard Nelthorpe (died 1685) was an English lawyer, a conspirator in the

Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the r ...

Life

He was son of James Nelthorpe of Charterhouse, London. On 7 December 1669 he was admitted to

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 ...

. Nelthorpe was involved in the Rye House plot to assassinate the king, and on its failure escaped with another lawyer, Nathaniel Wade, to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, They took ship to

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, and arrived at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

at the end of June 1683. His chambers in the Temple, together with those of his associate Richard Goodenough, were closely searched on 20 June, but with no result. Finding that the States-General had resolved to arrest them, Nelthorpe and Wade fled to

Vevey Vevey (; ; ) is a town in Switzerland in the Vaud, canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Leman, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the Vevey (district), district of the same name until 200 ...

in Switzerland, and were welcomed by

Edmund Ludlow Edmund Ludlow (c. 1617–1692) was an English parliamentarian, best known for his involvement in the execution of Charles I, and for his ''Memoirs'', which were published posthumously in a rewritten form and which have become a major source ...

. Meanwhile a reward was offered by royal proclamation for Nelthorpe's apprehension, and on 12 July a

grand jury A grand jury is a jury empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a person to testify. A grand ju ...

found a true bill against him. He was accordingly outlawed. Nelthorpe became an adherent of the

Duke of Monmouth Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

, and landed with him at

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

in 1685. After the

battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between forces loyal to James II and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in S ...

he was sheltered by Alice Lisle at her house in Hampshire, but his hiding-place was betrayed by one Barter. He was examined on 9 August, refused to divulge anything of a serious nature, and was so badly treated that he temporarily lost his reason. He was executed under his old outlawry before the gate of Gray's Inn, on 30 October 1685. In the next reign his

attainder In English criminal law, attainder was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditary titles, but ...

was reversed. He left a widow and five children. One of the children, a son, moved to Denmark, where the name was changed to the similar but more Danish-appearing Nelthropp.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Nelthorpe, Richard Year of birth missing 1685 deaths English lawyers Members of the Green Ribbon Club People of the Rye House Plot