Richard Taylor (1620 – 30 November 1667) 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 ...

from 1661 to 1667. He supported the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

cause in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. Taylor was the son of Richard Taylor, counsellor at law, of Grymsbury,

Bolnhurst Bolnhurst is a small village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Bolnhurst and Keysoe, in the Borough of Bedford, Bedfordshire, England. The village is about north-northeast of Bedford town centre and about west of St Neots. In 1931 ...

, Bedfordshire and his wife Elizabeth Boteler daughter of William Boteler of Biddenham, Bedfordshire. He was baptised on 20 March 1620. He matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

on 17 June 1636 aged 16 and was a student of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

in 1637.'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Tabbe-Thomyow', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714 (1891), pp. 1453-1478. Date accessed: 16 June 2012
/ref> He succeeded to a share in his father's estate at

Clapham, Bedfordshire Clapham is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Bedford in Bedfordshire, England. It had a population of 3,643 as at the 2001 census, increasing to 4,560 at the 2011 Census. Points of interest RAF Twinwood Farm, a disused airfield o ...

in 1641.'Parishes: Clapham', A History of the County of Bedford: Volume 3 (1912), pp. 128-132. Date accessed: 16 June 2012
/ref> He served in the Royalist army in the Civil War under Sir Ralph Hopton without apparently any military rank. His share of the Clapham estate was sequestered and in 1647 he was fined £450 for delinquency. In 1655 was assessed at £90 for decimation. At the Restoration it was written that he had "continued faithful in the late war to the surrender of Oxford, and hath been several times since imprisoned for his fidelity to your Majesty". He was one of those proposed for the order of Knight of the Royal Oak with an estate of £1,000 a year. History of Parliament Online - Richard Taylor
/ref> Taylor was a J.P. for Bedfordshire from July 1660, and Deputy Lieutenant for Bedfordshire and commissioner for assessment for Bedfordshire from August 1660, holding these positions until his death. He was a J.P. for Bedford in September 1660. In 1661, he was elected Member of Parliament for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

. There was a double return, but Taylor’s election was not affected. He was J.P. for Bedford in 1661 and became commissioner for assessment Bedford in 1661. He was J.P. for Bedford again in 1662 and also commissioner for loyal and indigent officers for Bedfordshire. Taylor died at the age of 47 and was buried at Clapham. Taylor married by licence dated 17 May 1648, Catherine Bosdon, daughter of Edward Bosdon of the Middle Temple and had five sons and three daughters.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Richard 1620 births 1667 deaths English MPs 1661–1679 Cavaliers People from Clapham, Bedfordshire