Richard Knightley

Sir Richard Knightley (1533-1615), of Fawsley in Northamptonshire, was an English Member of Parliament (MP) and leading patron of the Puritans during the reign of Elizabeth I.

Knightley, the senior member of one of the leading families of Northamptonshire, was knighted in 1566. He was MP for Northampton in the Parliaments of 1584 and 1585, and for Northamptonshire in those of 1589 and 1598. He also served as High Sheriff of Northamptonshire in 1568-9, 1581-2 and 1589. In the last of these years he was, in the course of his office, present at the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (which took place in Northamptonshire).

Sir Richard was a conspicuous member of the Puritan faction in Parliament, and in 1588 the secret printing press on which the Marprelate Tracts were printed was concealed at his house; indeed, he may have met the expense of the printing. When this was discovered he was arrested, though subsequently released, and in February 1589 was fined £2,000 by Star Chamber, and dismissed from the lieutenancy of the county and the magistracy. In 1605, he was again fined, this time the sum of £10,000.

He died in 1615. His son and heir, Valentine, and his grandson, Richard, were also members of Parliament.

References

* J E Neale, "The Elizabethan House of Commons" (London: Jonathan Cape, 1949)
* J E Neale, "Elizabeth I and Her Parliaments 1584-1601" (London: Jonathan Cape, 1957)
* Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930)
* C H Timperley, "A Dictionary of Printers and Printing" (London: H Johnson, 1839)
* [http://www.thepeerage.com/p23583.htm#i235827 www.thepeerage.com]