Nielsen Hayden genealogy
Richard Rich, Speaker of the House of Commons

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Name Richard Rich Suffix Speaker of the House of Commons Born 1497 Basingstoke, Hampshire, England [1]
Gender Male Died 12 Jun 1567 Rochford, Essex, England [1]
Buried 8 Jul 1567 Felsted, Essex, England [1]
Person ID I36201 Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others Last Modified 25 Sep 2021
Father John Rich, b. of Penton Mewsey, Hampshire, England , d. Abt 1509
Mother Agnes Family ID F21287 Group Sheet | Family Chart
Family Elizabeth Jenkes, d. Bef 18 Dec 1558, St. Bartholomew's, London, England Married Between 1535 and May 1536 [1] Children + 1. Elizabeth Rich, d. 17 Oct 1591 Last Modified 14 Sep 2021 Family ID F21286 Group Sheet | Family Chart
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Notes - Betrayer of Thomas More, torturer of Anne Askew, entrapper of John Fisher, suppressor of monasteries, destroyer of the Priory of St. Bartholomew-the-Great, Richard Rich was, correctly, called by Hugh Trevor-Roper a man "of whom nobody has ever spoken a good word." Naturally, he died in bed, rich and comfortable, and his descendants enjoyed their lives as wealthy and powerful aristocrats for over 300 years.
In the movie The Man for All Seasons, Rich perjures himself against Thomas More in order to become Attorney-General for Wales. More responds, "Why, Richard, it profits a man nothing to give his soul for the whole world...but for Wales?"
- Betrayer of Thomas More, torturer of Anne Askew, entrapper of John Fisher, suppressor of monasteries, destroyer of the Priory of St. Bartholomew-the-Great, Richard Rich was, correctly, called by Hugh Trevor-Roper a man "of whom nobody has ever spoken a good word." Naturally, he died in bed, rich and comfortable, and his descendants enjoyed their lives as wealthy and powerful aristocrats for over 300 years.
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Sources - [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing.
- [S76] The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2004-ongoing.