Sir Richard Tempest, MP, of Bracewell & Waddington

Not the same as Sir Richard Tempest, of Hertford & Studley

Richard Tempest

• born about 1356 in Bracewell, West Riding, Yorkshire, England
• died about 1428 of Bracewell, West Riding, Yorkshire, England about age 72.
• parents: Richard Tempest (1338-1379) & Maria Talbot Knight and MP

married

1. unknown
2. Richard next married Margaret DE STAINFORTH after Apr 1386. Margaret was born circa 1360 and died after 16 Mar 1391 of Bracewell, West Riding, Yorkshire, England.

Children from his 1st marriage were:

• 18. i. (Sir) Piers TEMPEST Knight 489 was born circa 1378 in Bracewell, West Riding, Yorkshire, England 489 and died about 1428 of Bracewell, West Riding, Yorkshire, England 489 about age 50.
• 19. ii. Isabel TEMPEST 508 was born circa 1380 508 and died of Hamerton Hall, West Riding, Yorkshire, England.508

Disambiguation

Sir Richard Tempest (30) [NOT this Richard - who is # 11] had two wives. His first, by whom he had no issue was Joan (29) daughter and heir of Sir Thomas de Hertford of Hertford co. York knt. She was dead by October 1354 when Sir Richard had re-married Isabel de Bourne (Feet of Fines, Yorks, 29 Edward iij, File 122, no. 6),[otherwise] Isabella (31) daughter and heir of Sir Thomas de Bourne of Stanford Ryvers, co. Essex, knt, by Isabel, daughter and heir of Sir John le Gras of Studley co. York and Trefford co. Dur: knt, by his wife Paulina (see below). She has wrongly been described as "daughter of Sir Hugh Cliderhowe by Isabel le Gras" etc. (Surtees' Hist. of Durham, vol. 3, p.326 etc.).

brief biography

From TEMPEST, Sir Richard (c.1356-1427/8), of Bracewell and Waddington, Yorks.:

The subject of this biography almost certainly belonged to the senior branch of the Tempest family, which had retained the two ancestral manors of Bracewell and Waddington. ...

Although he served on a few royal commissions in Yorkshire during the 1390s, Sir Richard still seems to have devoted most of his attention to the Scottish border, spending the best part of five years as deputy to the earl of Northumberland, the new keeper of Berwick. Then, on his appointment as warden of the west march in February 1397, John, earl of Huntingdon, the King’s half-brother, chose Sir Richard to deputize for him. Financial problems occurred almost at once, and before long sizeable arrears of pay began to build up. As we shall see, Sir Richard later claimed to have been owed at least 500 marks by the government—a factor which may well have undermined his loyalty to Richard II and the court party. At all events, in May 1398, he deemed it expedient to sue out a royal pardon, although he was probably as much concerned about irregularities in his account as by any suspicions regarding his political sympathies. His decision to support Henry of Bolingbroke’s coup d’état in the summer of 1399 was also influenced by his growing attachment to the earl of Northumberland, whose help proved crucial to the new regime ...

Sir Richard’s years of administrative and military experience, no less than his position as a landowner, amply qualified him to represent Yorkshire in Parliament. As well as the above-mentioned manors of Bracewell, Waddington and Hellifield, he also held extensive estates in and around Skipton, Gargrave, Burnsall, Cold Coniston, Horton, Keighley and Rilston. He was, furthermore, in great demand as a trustee and witness to local property transactions; and his name occurs frequently in West Riding deeds of the early 15th century.8 It is, however, unlikely that he would ever have sought—or accepted—a parliamentary seat but for the difficulty which he faced in recovering the money still owed to him as former deputy warden of the west march.

Sir Richard left £20 to cover the cost of his funeral at Bracewell church. He made a few small bequests to local religious houses, but the bulk of his estate went to members of the Tempest family. His son and heir, Roger, received £20 in cash, while sums totalling 40 marks were enjoyed by various female relatives. The task of executing his will (which was proved on 30 Sept. 1428) fell to Roger, who promptly took seisin of his inheritance.10

Ancestry

13. (Sir) Richard TEMPEST M.P., Knight 68 489 (Richard 9, John Knight ((Sir)) 8, John ((Sir)) 7, Richard 6, Roger Lord of Waddington, Knight ((Sir)) 5, Richard Lord of Bracewell, Knight ((Sir)) 4, Richard Lord of Bracewell 3, Roger Lord of Bracewell 2, Richard DE

notes

from WHO WAS THE WIFE OF SIR RICHARD TEMPEST (1356-1428)?

Richard and Mary's son, Sir Richard Tempest, had an illustrious career involving battles with the Scots and French and extensive administrative responsibilities in the north of England under five kings of England, from Edward III to Henry VI. As noted above, he was co-warden of Berwick Castle with Sir Thomas Talbot, presumably his mother's brother, in 1385-86. (This could not have been her father, since he was dead by 1366, History of Whalley, v. 1, p. 500.). ...

... His [Robert de Stainforth's] will was made 16 March 1390-91 and was apparently probated on the last day of that month. Robert bequeaths animals and household utensils to his daughters Margaret and Agnes, but as EBT observes, fails to indicate whether they were married. He goes on: "Also I bequeath to the daughter of Richard Tempest 100 marks at her marriage if she should be married, or to the daughters of the said Richard Tempest or to the sons of the same." Then: "Also I bequeath the residue of all my goods not bequeathed to Richard Tempest knight and to the abbot of Sallay so that they shall ordain and dispose for my soul as is best." He names Richard Tempest, knight, and John de Standon executors.

While not absolutely dispositive, we agree with EBT that this is substantial evidence for the marriage of Richard Tempest and Margaret Stainforth. ...

One of the most fascinating tidbits about Richard's wife is the following notation by EBT: "During the time Sir Ric. Tempest was the warden of Roxburgh Castle, between April 1385 & April 1386, the Scots carried off his papers & his wife."

Unfortunately, we have not located additional sources that would throw light on this alleged abduction or its outcome.

EBT shows five sons for Richard and Margaret: Sir Piers, Sir Robert, John, Richard, and Roger. She gives varying dates for their births at different places in the manuscript, Piers: "circa 1378" and "born say 1382"; Robert: "born say 1385"; Roger: "circa 1390," "born say 1390," and "c. 1398"; she does not suggest birthdates for John and Richard. She also shows a single daughter, Isabel, also without birthdate. (Roger married Catherine Gilliot, founded the Tempests of Broughton, and is the ancestor of EBT's husband, Arthur Cecil Tempest.)

Since Robert de Stainforth's will was dated April 1390, if Margaret was in fact Richard Tempest's wife, either she had returned from her ordeal as a captive of the Scots in 1385 or 1386 or she was a successor wife to the one who was abducted. So, while we believe that Margaret Stainforth was Richard's wife, we cannot be sure that he did not have a first wife.

Links

• http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/families/tempest/early.shtml
• http://washington.ancestryregister.com/TEMPEST200006.htm#c3199
• http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1386-1421/member/te...
• http://www.towton.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/the_tempests.pdf
• http://thepeerage.com/p44034.htm#i440333
• http://www.medievalgenealogy.org.uk/families/tempest/index.shtml #48 (Volume 1 page 79)