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Richard Edgcumbe
Richard Edgcumbe
Born	23 April 1680
Died	22 November 1758 (aged 78)
Occupation	Politician
Title	1st Baron Edgecumbe
Spouse	Matilda Furnese
Children	3
Parent(s)	Sir Richard Edgcumbe ; Lady Anne Montagu

Arms of Edgcumbe: *Gules, on a bend ermines cotised or three boar's heads couped argent*

Richard Edgcumbe, 1st Baron Edgcumbe, PC (23 April 1680 – 22 November 1758) of Mount Edgcumbe in Cornwall, was an English Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1701 until 1742 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Edgcumbe. He is memorialised by Edgecombe County, North Carolina.^[1]

Origins

He was the son of Sir Richard Edgcumbe and Lady Anne Montagu, daughter of Edward Montagu, 1st Earl of Sandwich.

Career

In 1694, at the age of 14, Edgcumbe succeeded his brother, Piers Edgcumbe, in the family estates. He was admitted at Trinity College, Cambridge in 1697^[2] and travelled abroad in 1699.^[3]

Edgcumbe was returned unopposed as MP for Cornwall at a by-election on 25 June 1701 but never took his seat as Parliament had been prorogued. At the general election later in 1701, he was returned unopposed as MP for St Germans. Edgcumbe was elected MP for Plympton Erle at the 1702 English general election, probably on the Treby interest. He was re-elected at the 1705 English general election in a contest, and voted for the Court candidate as Speaker on 25 October 1705. Edgcumbe was returned as a Whig at the 1708 British general election, and was several times a teller for the Whigs. Although absent from the vote on the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell, he was attacked by the mob supporting Dr Sacheverell in Cornwall. Edgcumbe was returned again at the 1710 British general election but his behaviour in parliament appears contradictory. He was however to be one of the leaders of the great Whig procession through the City of London, which was banned by the government. Edgcumbe voted for the motion ‘No Peace Without Spain’ on 7 December 1712 and divided against the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. He was returned again at the 1713 British general election, and voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele.

At the 1715 British general election, Edgecombe was returned unopposed as MP for Plympton Erle. He was appointed lord of the treasury in 1716. Edgcumbe surrendered the post when he went into opposition with Walpole in 1717, but was re-instated in 1720. He was returned again for Plympton Erle at the 1722 British general election. Edgcumbe held his post at the Treasury until 1724 when he was appointed Vice-Treasurer of Ireland, a post he held until 1742. He was returned again at the 1727 British general election, and was appointed a Privy Councillor for Ireland on 28 November 1727. At the 1734 British general election, Edgcumbe was returned as MP for Plympton Erle and Lostwithiel and chose to sit for Lostwithiel. He was Lord Warden of the Stannaries from 1734 to 1747. Edgcumbe was elected again for Plympton Erle at the 1741 general election and sat until he was raised to the peerage in 1742 and vacated his seat in the House of Commons. Edgcumbe was a faithful follower of Sir Robert Walpole, in whose interests he managed the elections for the Cornish boroughs, and his elevation to the peerage was designed to prevent him from giving evidence about Walpole's expenditure of the secret service money. In 1742, Edgcumbe was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which posts he held for the rest of his life. He became a colonel of a regiment of foot in 1745 and became major-general in 1755. He was appointed Chief Justice in Eyre, north of Trent in January 1758.^[4]

Marriage and children

Edgcumbe married Matilda Furnese (died 1721), a daughter of Sir Henry Furnese, 1st Baronet (c. 1658 – 1712), of Waldershare in Kent, by whom he had four children, including:^[5]

Henry Edgcumbe, eldest son, died in infancy,
Richard Edgcumbe, 2nd Baron Edgcumbe (1716–1761), eldest surviving son and heir, who died unmarried;
George Edgcumbe, 3rd Baron Edgcumbe, 1st Earl of Mount Edgcumbe (1720–1795), who succeeded his brother and was created Earl of Mount Edgcumbe in 1789.

Notes

^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp. 114.
^ "Edgcumbe, Richard (EGCM697R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
^ "EDGCUMBE, Richard (1680-1758), of Mount Edgcumbe, Maker and Cothele, Cornw". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 23 August 2018.
^ "EDGCUMBE, Richard (1680-1758), of Mount Edgcumbe, nr. Plymouth, Devon". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 23 August 2018.
^ Vivian, p. 143.

References

Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Edgecumbe" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
Stephen, Leslie, ed. (1888). "Edgcumbe, Richard (1680-1758)" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 16. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
Baker, Anne Pimlott. "Edgcumbe, Richard, second earl of Mount Edgcumbe (1764–1839)". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/8474. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)

Parliament of England
Preceded by Hugh Boscawen John Speccot	Member of Parliament for Cornwall 1701 With: John Speccot	Succeeded by John Granville James Buller
Preceded by Henry Fleming Daniel Eliot	Member of Parliament for St Germans 1701–1702 With: Henry Fleming	Succeeded by Henry Fleming John Anstis
Preceded by Courtenay Croker Richard Hele	Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle 1702–1707 With: Thomas Jervoise 1702–1703 Richard Hele 1703–1705 Sir John Cope 1705–1707	Succeeded by Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Parliament of England	Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle 1707–1734 With: Sir John Cope 1707–1708 George Treby 1708–1728 John Fuller 1728–1734	Succeeded by Thomas Clutterbuck
Preceded by Anthony Cracherode Edward Walpole	Member of Parliament for Lostwithiel 1734–1741 With: Philip Lloyd 1734–1735 The Lord Ducie 1735–1736 Sir John Crosse, Bt 1736–1741	Succeeded by Sir John Crosse, Bt Sir Robert Salusbury Cotton, Bt
Preceded by Thomas Clutterbuck Thomas Walker	Member of Parliament for Plympton Erle 1741–1742 With: Thomas Clutterbuck	Succeeded by Thomas Clutterbuck The Lord Sundon
Honorary titles
Vacant Title last held by The Earl of Radnor	Custos Rotulorum of Cornwall 1726–1758	Succeeded by The Lord Edgcumbe
Vacant Title last held by The Earl of Radnor	Lord Lieutenant of Cornwall 1742–1758	Succeeded by The Lord Edgcumbe
Court offices
Preceded by The Viscount Falmouth	Lord Warden of the Stannaries 1734–1737	Vacant Title next held by Thomas Pitt
Political offices
Preceded by The Earl of Cholmondeley	Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 1743–1758	Succeeded by The Earl of Kinnoull
Legal offices
Preceded by The Duke of Somerset	Justice in Eyre north of the Trent 1758	Succeeded by The Lord Sandys
Peerage of Great Britain
New title	Baron Edgcumbe 1742–1758	Succeeded by Richard Edgcumbe