Richard Clough

Sir Richard Clough (c. 1530–1570), known by his Welsh contemporaries as Rhisiart Clwch, was a merchant from Denbigh, north-east Wales, and an agent of Queen Elizabeth I of England.

Clough was from a humble background, but his fortunes were improved when he was noticed, as a boy chorister in Chester Cathedral, for his remarkable singing voice and was sent to court in London. He became a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre and a member of the Mercers' Company, and was so rich that in his home area his name became a synonym for wealth. He was also an innovator, the builder of the first brick houses in Wales and the deviser of a scheme to dredge the River Clwyd and make it navigable. He was interested in astronomy, a patron of the map publisher Humphrey Llywd, and was one of the founders of the Stock Exchange. He died suddenly in Hamburg, some time between March and July 1570, while preparing to bring his second wife, Katheryn of Berain, home to the new house he had built for her in Wales.

External links

* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/legacies/myths_legends/wales/w_ne/article_1.shtml Sir Richard Clough — "The Most Complete Man"]