EDGECUMBE, or EDGECOMBE

This article appears in Volume V08, Page 934 of the Encyclopedia Britannica.

Encyclopedia Britannica - Main :: ECG-EMS

EDGECUMBE, or EDGECOMBE , the name of a celebrated west of England family, taken from the manor of Edgecumbe in

Cornwall

CORNWALL

. One of its earlier members was Sir Richard Edgecumbe (d. 1489), who was descended from a Richard Edgecumbe who flourished during the reign of Edward I. Richard was a member of parliament in 1467; afterwards he joined Henry,

earl

EARL

of Richmond, in Brittany, returned with the

earl

EARL

to England, and fought at Bosworth, where he was knighted. He received rich rewards from Henry, now King Henry VII., who also sent him on errands to Scotland, to Ireland and to Brittany, and he died at Morlaix on the 8th of September 1489. His son and successor, Sir Piers Edgecumbe, went to France with Henry VIII. in 1513, and when he died on the 14th of August 1539 he left with other issue a son, Sir Richard Edgecumbe (1499-1562), a cultured and hospitable man, who is celebrated through Richard Carew's Friendly Remembrance of Sir Richard Edgecumbe. Sir Richard's eldest son, Piers or Peter Edgecumbe (1536-1607), was a member of parliament under Elizabeth for about thirty years.
Another famous member of this family was Richard, 1st baron Edgecumbe (168o-1758), a son of Sir Richard Edgecumbe. Educated at Trinity College,

Cambridge

, he was successively member of parliament for St Germans, Plympton and Lostwithiel from 1701 to 1742; on two occasions he served as a lord of the treasury; and from 1724 to 1742 he was paymaster-general for Ireland, becoming chancellor of the duchy of

Lancaster

in 1743. Edgecumbe was a faithful follower of Sir Robert Walpole, in whose interests he managed the elections for the Cornish boroughs, and his

elevation

ELEVATION

to the peerage, which took place in 1742, was designed to prevent him from giving evidence about Walpole's expenditure of the

secret

SECRET (Lat. secretum, hidden, concealed)

service money. He died on the 22nd of November 1758. His son and successor, Richard, the 2nd baron (1716-1761), was comptroller of the royal

house

-hold, a member of parliament, and a major-general in the army. A wit, a writer of verse, a gambler and an intimate friend of

Horace

HORACE [QuINTus HORATIUS FLACCUS] (65-8 B.C.)

Walpole, " Dick Edgecumbe " died unmarried on the loth of May 1761.
Edgecumbe's brother, George, 1st earl of

Mount

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

Edgecumbe (1721-1795), was a naval officer who saw a great deal of service during the Seven Years' War. Succeeding to the barony on the 1st baron's death in 1761 he became an admiral and treasurer of the royal household; he was created Viscount

Mount

MOUNT, WILLIAM SIDNEY (1807-1868)

-Edgecumbe in 1781 and earl of Mount-Edgecumbe in 1789. He died on the 4th of February 1795, his only son being his successor, Richard, the 2nd earl (1764-1839), the ancestor of the present earl and the. author of Musical Reminiscences of an Old Amateur. He died on the 26th of September 1839. His son, Ernest

Augustus

AUGUSTUS (a name 1 derived from Lat. augeo, increase, i.e. venerable, majestic, Gr. Ee0avr6s)

, the 3rd earl (1797-1861), wrote Extracts from Journals kept during the Revolutions at Rome and Palermo.

End of Article: EDGECUMBE, or EDGECOMBE

If you wish, you can link directly to this article.

<a href="http://jcsm.org/StudyCenter/Encyclopedia/ECG_EMS/EDGECUMBE_or_EDGECOMBE.html">
EDGECUMBE, or EDGECOMBE
</a>

(Previous)
EDGE HILL

(Next)
EDGEWORTH DE FIRMONT, HENRY ESSEX (1745-1807)

JCSM was founded in 1997 and exists to help the community and bring people into a life-changing and productive relationship with Jesus Christ. JCSM offers over 200,000 free web pages, including its weekly inspirational emails that were sent continuously for over a decade.

Jesus Christ Saves Ministries
P.O. Box 9297
San Diego, CA 92169
1-888-887-0417 or Email