Sir Richard Newdigate, 1st Baronet (1602–1678) was an English judge.
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He was born on 17 September 1602, a younger son of Sir John Newdigate of Arbury Hall, in the parish of Chilvers Coton, Warwickshire, by Anne Fitton, eldest daughter of Sir Edward Fitton, baronet, of Gawsworth in Cheshire. John Newdegate was his grandfather. Matriculating at Trinity College, Oxford, on 6 November 1618, he left the university without a degree, and entered in 1620 Gray's Inn, where he was called to the bar in 1628, elected an ancient in 1645, and a bencher in 1649.[1] He was High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield from 1646 until his death.
Newdigate was counsel with William Prynne and John Bradshaw on behalf of the state in the proceedings taken against Connor Maguire, 2nd Baron of Enniskillen, and other Irish rebels in 1644–5. He was also one of the counsel for the eleven members impeached by Thomas Fairfax in June 1647. On 9 February 1653–4 he was called to the degree of serjeant-at-law, and on 31 May following was made a justice of the upper bench, in which capacity he was placed on the special commission for the trial of the Yorkshire insurgents on 5 April 1655. He declined to serve, on the ground that levying war against the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell was not within the statute of treason; and in consequence was removed from his place (3 May), and resumed practice at the bar. He was, however, reinstated before 26 June 1657, when he attended, as justice of the upper bench, the ceremony of the reinvestiture of the Protector in Westminster Hall.[1]
Newdigate was continued in office during Richard Cromwell's protectorate; and after his abdication, on 17 January 1660 was advanced to be Lord Chief Justice. Anticipating his dismissal on the Restoration, he had himself to returned to the Convention parliament. On 5 April 1660 he was among the ‘old serjeants remade,’ and was briefly, in 1660, MP for Tamworth, Staffordshire.[1]
He was a successful and wealthy barrister. In 1675 he added the Warwickshire manor of Arbury, to which he had succeeded in 1642 on the death of his elder brother, that of Harefield, Middlesex, the ancient seat of his family, which had been alienated in the preceding century by his grandfather, a debtor, in a deal for Arbury with Edmund Anderson.[2] On 24 July 1677 a baronetcy was conferred on him by Charles II without payment of the ordinary fees.[1]
He died at Harefield Manor on 14 October 1678, and was buried in Harefield parish church, where a monument was raised to his memory.[1]
Newdigate married, in 1631, Juliana, daughter of Sir Francis Leigh, K.B., of King's Newnham, Warwickshire, and had issue six sons and five daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest surviving son, Richard (d. 1710), whose son, Sir Richard, third baronet, was father of Sir Roger Newdigate.[1]
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: "Newdigate, Richard". Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Unknown |
Member of Parliament for Tamworth with Thomas Fox 1660–1661 |
Succeeded by Amos Walrond John Swinfen |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by John Glynne |
Lord Chief Justice 1660 |
Succeeded by Sir Richard Foster |
| Honorary titles | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Essex |
High Steward of Sutton Coldfield 1646–1678 |
Succeeded by Thomas Thynne |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| New title | Baronet (of Arbury) 1677–1678 |
Succeeded by Richard Newdigate |