Sir Richard Reade (1511–1576) was an English-born

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

in sixteenth-century Ireland, who held the office of

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 ...

Background and early career

He was born at

Nether Wallop Nether Wallop is a village and civil parish in the Test Valley district of Hampshire, England, northwest of Stockbridge, and southwest of Andover. Nether Wallop is the easternmost of the three villages collectively known as The Wallops, the ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

, second son of Richard Reade (died 1555), Lord of the Manor of Wallop, and his wife Margaret. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is an English Public school (United Kingdom), public school (a long-established fee-charging boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) with some provision for day school, day attendees, in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It wa ...

and

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

, where he became a fellow in 1528. He took the degrees of Bachelor of Civil Law at Oxford in 1537 and

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

at the same university in 1540.Gregg, p. 253 He quickly acquired a reputation as "a man of learning and experience". He was made a Master of Chancery and undertook a crucial trade mission to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

.Ball, F. Elrington. ''The Judges in Ireland 1221-1921''. London: John Murray, 1926 He was

knighted A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

in 1544.

Lord Chancellor of Ireland and later life

In 1546 Sir John Alan, the

, was removed from office on a charge of

corruption Corruption is a form of dishonesty or a criminal offense that is undertaken by a person or an organization that is entrusted in a position of authority to acquire illicit benefits or abuse power for one's gain. Corruption may involve activities ...

, and Reade was sent to Ireland to replace him. He was granted a house in the precincts of St. Patrick's Cathedral, and the manor of Moyglare near

Maynooth Maynooth (; ) is a university town in north County Kildare, Ireland. It is home to Maynooth University (part of the National University of Ireland and also known as the National University of Ireland, Maynooth) and St Patrick's College, Maynoo ...

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. In 1548 Alan was reinstated as chancellor. Reade returned to England, where he became Master of Requests. He later purchased the manors of

Redbourn Redbourn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England. It is located from Harpenden, from St Albans and from Hemel Hempstead. The civil parish had a population of 6,913 according to the 2011 Census. History To the south-west of ...

near St. Albans and Tangley near

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

Death and family

He died on 11 July 1576 and was buried at St Mary's Church, Redbourn. He left legacies to Winchester College and for the upkeep of the parish of Redbourn. The manor of Redbourn itself was inherited by his eldest son Innocent, who also inherited the older family estate at Nether Wallop. His second son John died at the age of nineteen, while his third son Andrew became a substantial landowner in Hampshire, acquiring the manors of Linkenholt and

Faccombe Faccombe is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England. The village lies on the Hampshire-Berkshire border and is situated on the North Downs. Its nearest Hampshire town is Andover, Hampshire, Andover, approximately away although Newbury, ...

. Richard's wife was Anne Tregonwell, daughter of the prominent jurist Sir

John Tregonwell Sir John Tregonwell (died 1565) was a Cornish jurist, a principal agent of Henry VIII of England, Henry VIII and Thomas Cromwell in the Dissolution of the Monasteries. He served as Judge of the High Court of Admiralty from 1524 to 1536.C.S. Gilb ...

Milton Abbas Milton Abbas is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England, lying around southwest of Blandford Forum. In the 2011 Census the civil parish had a population of 755. This planned community was built after the old Town was demolished in the 1 ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

, and his first wife Elizabeth Newce. In addition to the above-mentioned sons, they had a daughter, Anne, who married a Mr. Wilgosse.

Character

Ball praises Reade as a man of great learning, though O'FlanaganO'Flanagan, J. Roderick. ''Lives of the Lord Chancellors and Keepers of the Great Seal of Ireland''. London, 1870 adds that little judicial business was transacted in the Lord Chancellor's Court during his tenure of that office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reade, Richard 1575 deaths 1511 births Lord chancellors of Ireland People from Test Valley Alumni of New College, Oxford People educated at Winchester College People from Redbourn