Richard Berkeley (died 1604)

Effigy of Sir Richard Berkeley (d. 1604), The Gaunts Chapel, Bristol
Arms of Berkeley of Stoke Gifford: Gules, a chevron ermine between ten crosses pattee argent. These arms may be seen in The Gaunts Chapel, Bristol and are the arms of the Barons Berkeley with the difference of a chevron ermine in place of a chevron argent

Sir Richard Berkeley (1531 – 1604) of Stoke Gifford, Gloucestershire was MP for Gloucestershire in 1604. He had previously served as Sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1564, and as Deputy Lieutenant of Gloucestershire. He was knighted by Queen Elizabeth I in 1568.[1] In 1595 he was appointed Lieutenant of the Tower of London. In 1599 he was appointed custodian of Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex (d. 1601), who was kept under house arrest at Essex House[2] in London. He died in 1604, whilst serving as MP, and was buried in The Gaunts Chapel, Bristol, where exists an effigy of him, which chapel had been founded in 1220 by Maurice de Gaunt (d. 1230), a member of the Berkeley family, and which stands opposite St Augustine's Abbey (after 1542 Bristol Cathedral), founded by a member of the Berkeley family of nearby Berkeley Castle.

  1. ^ Barker, p.147
  2. ^ Essex House per Barker, p. 148, other sources state York House