#15359, Richard STRODE (III)

Biographical notes on Richard STRODE (II) MP (1414-1464) and Richard STRODE (III) MP (1448-1518)

They were brothers, the sons of John Strode (III) and Joane Burley. John Strode (III)’s father was John Strode (II), married to Melior de Newnham, daughter and heiress of Simeon Newnham and his grandfather was Reginald (or Richard) Strode (I) married to Florence.
John Strode (III) of Strode in Ermington, Devon was granted permission by the Bishop of Exeter on 20th May 1432 for the construction of a private chapel at Newnham.

 Richard Strode MP (II) (1414-1464)

The Strode family had long been seated at Newnham which stood about a mile to the south-east of Loughtor. Richard inherited additional land at Denbury, after his sister, Elizabeth married John Ryke of Denbury and the couple had no children or heir of their own. Meanwhile, Richard had married Margaret Fortescue, daughter of Sir Henry Fortescue of Wood, Devon, Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas of Ireland, and appears to have been the first member of the family to represent Plympton as an MP. He served during 1436/7 and 1446/7. This Richard was clearly quite wealthy and under the terms of his will he stated that he was to be buried in the chapel of St. Katherine – the Strode Chapel as it became known – near the altar of St. Mary’s Church in Plympton.
Furthermore, he stipulated that in the north-eastern corner of the chapel, above his tomb, an entirely new window of Roborough stone should be created, beneath which an arched recess, fashioned either in Beer stone or Roborough stone again, should sit within which there was to be an effigy of himself, clad in chainmail and armour. The will indicated that the said Richard Strode, with Margaret had brought six sons and three daughters into the world and that two of the sons were to have his armour, his best wearing apparel and his weapons divided between them equally.
Richard and Margaret’s eldest son William Strode (II) (1444-1518) married three times (Alice Gibbs, Agnes Worth and Joan Strode) but died on 18th May without issue so the line of succession moved to his younger brother, also Richard.

Richard Strode MP (III) (1448-1518)

In 1512 Richard Strode was the Member of Parliament for Plympton Earle and was himself invested and participating in the tin mining industry. He is best known for having instigated ‘Strode’s Case’ one of the most important acts of parliament associated with Parliamentary Privilege, (4 Hen.VIII, c.8)

With the aid of some fellow MPs, Strode attempted to introduce legislation restricting the rights of tin miners on Dartmoor. His restrictions were aimed at preventing important ports (particularly Plympton) from becoming silted up by the careless disposal of mining waste. Being himself a miner, an influential competitor brought charges against Strode in a Stannary Court, a regional tribunal empowered to judge mining disputes. Strode was fined £160 but refused to pay, whereupon he was imprisoned at Lydford Castle. He was released three weeks later by a letter from the Exchequer, at Strode’s request. Parliament had passed a law -Strode’s Act – reversing the local court decision and granting him immunity from further prosecution related to his parliamentary activities. Although initially it applied only to this specific case, it was later expanded to cover all Parliamentary activities. The case was long and complex and is widely detailed elsewhere, but it remains one of the earliest, oft-quoted and most important legal cases regarding parliamentary privilege.
Richard Strode (III) is also credited with founding a new college of arms in March 1484