Richard Cholmondeley
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Sir Richard Cholmondeley (1472 – 1521) was an English nobleman who served as Lieutenant of the Tower of London from 1513 to 1520 during the reign of Henry VIII. Cholmondeley is remembered because of his tomb at the Tower of London and because he is fictionalized as a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's darkly comic opera, The Yeomen of the Guard.
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[edit] Life and career
Sir Richard Cholmondeley or Cholmeley (in either case, pronounced "Chumley") was born at Chorley, a small settlement approximately six miles south west of Nantwich, Cheshire, the eldest son of Joan Eaton and John Cholmeley, wealthy sheep farmers and land owners. See the heading "Tomb and Family Name", below, regarding the family name. While Richard was very young, his family moved to East Yorkshire, where his maternal grandfather held extensive estates.
[edit] Early career
In 1497, Richard served under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey to repel a Scots assault at Norham Castle, a stronghold of the Bishopric of Durham. For his service, Sir Richard was knighted in the field by Lord Surrey as representative of the king. In the same year, he was appointed Lieutenant of Berwick upon Tweed and Governor of Kingston upon Hull. In 1499, Sir Richard and his younger brother Roger were appointed Constables of Pickering Castle, North Yorkshire and Stewards of the Honour and Foresters of the Royal Forest. While Roger settled in the constable's lodgings at the castle, Sir Richard purchased a small estate and house at nearby Thornton on the Hill (now part of Thornton-le-Dale). In 1506, Sir Richard was appointed Collector of the Great Custom in the Port of London.
In 1513, the Scots invaded England to meet their treaty obligations to France under the Auld Alliance. At the Battle of Flodden Field, the English, including a Cheshire levy under Sir Richard's command, successfully repelled the Scots. Sir Richard brought with him the Citizen Yeomenry of Hull. With English victory, Lord Surrey was restored as Duke of Norfolk, and Sir Richard was appointed Lieutenant of The Tower of London and Supervisor General of Richmond Castle and eleven other Yorkshire castles and manors.
[edit] Lieutenant of the Tower
There was no suitable house for Sir Richard within the Tower precincts, and so he purchased a house in nearby Barking, where he lived while serving as Lieutenant of the Tower. The duties of the Lieutenant included defence, maintenance, and escorting prisoners of note to trial at Westminster which, at that time, housed the courts of law. Sir Richard's maintenance works included the complete rebuilding of the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, the parish church of the Tower of London, which had been largely destroyed by fire in 1512. The construction was carried out in 1519–20.
Sir Richard lost some favour with the City of London authorities because of his reaction to the Evil May Day riots of 1517. During the riots, he furiously ordered the firing of some of the Tower's artillery at the city during rioting by gangs of young Londoners, who attacked foreigners, especially the wealthy foreign merchants and bankers of Lombard Street, London and who took control of London for several days. In 1520, Sir Richard resigned his post at the Tower due to ill health. He died in March 1521 (1522 by the modern calendar system).
Sir Richard is the only historical character to appear in a Gilbert and Sullivan opera, The Yeomen of the Guard. In the story of that opera, Sir Richard, while serving as Lieutenant of the Tower, finds that a prominent prisoner, scheduled to be executed, has escaped. He launches a full-scale investigation.
[edit] Legacy
Sir Richard became very wealthy by inheritance and shrewd property investments. At the time of his death, he held extensive estates in Northumberland, Cumberland, Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Middlesex, Kent and Calais, along with several properties in London. By his will dated 26th December 1521, he left the bulk of his estate to his widow Elizabeth, with bequests to his only issue, his illegitimate son, also named Roger. Specific items of value were willed to Sir Richard's younger brother Roger.
Sir Richard's widow, Elizabeth, married her third husband Sir William Gascoigne of Cardington, Bedfordshire. Sir Richard's illegitimate son, Roger, enrolled at Lincoln's Inn to study law, eventually becoming Recorder of the City of London and Chief Baron of the Exchequer. He was knighted in 1534. In 1552, he was imprisoned for six weeks in the Tower of London for certifying documents in support of Lady Jane Grey as Queen. Roger died in 1565, survived by two daughters. He is possibly best remembered for his endowment to found a free grammar school at Highgate, London.
Sir Richard's brother, Roger, had a son whom he named Richard Cholmeley, whose descendants are the Cholmeleys of Roxby, Bramston and Whitby. This is the line of the current 7th Baronet, Sir Hugh John Frederick Sebastian Cholmeley of Easton Hall, Grantham, Lincolnshire. Sir Richard's cousin, Richard Cholmondeley of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, was married to Elizabeth Brereton of Malpas, whose brother, William Brereton, was executed in 1536 on suspicion of being Anne Boleyn's lover. That branch of the family's descendants included the Marquesses and Earls of Cholmondeley.
[edit] Tomb and Family Name
In 1522, after the rebuilding of St. Peter ad Vincula, a tomb was built in the church covered by effigies of Sir Richard and his wife. The monument is one of the oldest in the chapel, where many famous people who were executed at the Tower are buried. Today, the alabaster effigies lie fenced in ironwork under the central arcade.
However, Sir Richard is not buried in this tomb. In his will, he requests that he be buried "within the Chapel of our blessed Lady of Barking beside the Tower of London" (now called "All Hallows, Barking") and that if the Masters and Wardens would not agree, then "my body be buried in the Church of the Crutched Friars beside the Tower of London" (now called "St. Olaf's"). It is not known whether he was buried in either place. There is some evidence that he may have been buried in one of the tombs of the Cholmondeley, Cheshire branch of his family.
Sir Richard's family can be traced back to the 12th century Robert de Chelmundelegh, second son of William le Belward, who inherited parts of the Barony of Malpas (for which Malpas is named), including Cholmondeley, Cheshire, previously held by Robert Fitzhugh. Over the centuries, the family name was spelled in many variants as middle-English developed away from French influences. Different branches of the family spell the name differently, and Sir Richard's most famous cousins, of Cholmondeley, Cheshire, spell the name Cholmondeley. A contemporary of Sir Richard's from this line of the family was named Richard Cholmondeley.
In Victorian times, Sir Richard's tomb in St. Peter ad Vincula was relocated and had a new name panel fitted. The panel states that Sir Richard's family name was spelled "Cholmondeley". Thus, Gilbert and Sullivan called him "Sir Richard Cholmondeley". However, Sir Richard's father was John Cholmeley, his grandfather was William Cholmeley, and brother was Roger Cholmeley. His will is signed Richard Cholmeley. So the best evidence is that, at some point after the Cholmondeley branch became the more highly titled branch of the family, Sir Richard Cholmeley, Lieutenant of the Tower, was confused with his cousin, Richard Cholmondeley of Cholmondeley, Cheshire.
[edit] References
- Chamley, Benson (June 2003). "Sir Richard Cholmondeley, Cheshire's most famous unknown". The Family History Society of Cheshire Magazine.
- The History of Parliament, The House of commons 1509-1558 (Cholmley, Sir Roger)
- The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography: Cholmley, Sir Roger (c1485-1565)
- The Judges of England 1066-1870 (Edward Foss), Cholmley, Roger.
- A History of The County of Cambridge and the Isle of Ely (Cheveley, Flendish, Staine and Staploe.) Vol 10 "Manor of Stow cum Quy
- Calendar of fine rolls, National Archives: 1497: Appointment of Richard Cholmley, Knight, as Lieutenant of Berwick upon Tweed and Governor of Kingston upon Hull
- April 25th 1506 (Membrane 15 no.847), Appouintment of Richard Cholmeley, Knight, as collector of the great custom in the port of London and in alladjacent ports and places in the place of William Tystede, late collector
- National Archives Records: Consistory Court of Canterbury, Wills and Probates 1383-1558 vol.1 & 2 (J.G.Challenor Smith:) Will and probate for Sir Richard Cholmley, December 1521 and March 1522
(Copies of most of the above documents are also available at the Society of Genealogists, London. Most are also available on line at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk, including Sir Richard's Will)
