CHAMOND, Richard (by 1509-99), of Launcells, Cornw.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1509-1558, ed. S.T. Bindoff, 1982
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

Family and Education

b. by 1509, s. of Sir John Chamond by 2nd w. m. by 1538, Margaret, da. and coh. of Richard Trevenor alias Denny of Lamorran, Cornw., wid. of John Arundell of Talverne in Philleigh, Cornw. 6s. inc. Digory and Emanuel 2da.2

Offices Held

Steward, Bodmin priory, Cornw. by 1535; sheriff, Cornw. Jan.-Nov. 1544, 1548-9, 1562-3; commr. subsidy 1545, 1563, musters 1546, relief 1550, goods of churches and fraternities 1553, grain 1586; j.p. by 1554-d.3

Biography

As a young man Richard Chamond assisted his father, who procured for him a stewardship from Bodmin priory: the first trace of him comes in 1530 when he was appointed as a feoffee by John Holdiche. He was of a litigious nature and by 1538 he had begun to frequent the courts. He did not come to the fore in Cornwall until his father’s death, when although not the heir he completed Sir John Chamond’s final term as sheriff. Not long after assuming the office he received a writ for the release from custody of William Trewynnard: Trewynnard had been arrested for debt, and on his release his creditors held Chamond responsible for the debt and in 1545 brought an unsuccessful action against him for its recovery. It may have been, at least in part, as a precaution against the loss of this suit that Chamond sought election to the Parliament of 1545: his adoption as a knight of the shire doubtless owed something to his cousin (Sir) Richard Grenville who had succeeded him as sheriff, and although this was probably his first election he took precedence over his colleague and kinsman John Beauchamp. Nothing has come to light about his role in this Parliament, but during the interval before its delayed opening he fought in France and in the following year returned there for a round of duty at Boulogne: he was presumably back in England for the second session of the Parliament which was ended by the King’s death.4

An accusation against Chamond of abducting a boy from his mother in June 1547 evidently did him little damage, for in the following year he was chosen sheriff and was thus in office during the western rebellion. As one of the jury which had tried the Helston rioters of 1548 he was presumably an object of the rebels’ hatred, but his conduct and movements at this crisis are obscure. The Protector and Council clearly did not have much faith in him, for it was (Sir) William Godolphin whom they recommended to Sir John Russell, Baron Russell, to help him restore order. No serious blame seems to have attached to Chamond, however, and he survived the episode without loss of stature. Materially, too, he continued to prosper: in the closing months of Edward VI’s reign he joined with Roger Prideaux in purchasing from the crown for over £1,400 the manor of Launcells, which his family had formerly leased from Hartland abbey, as well as property in Essex which they soon re-sold. In 1555 William, Baron Howard of Effingham, made Chamond a feoffee, and this connexion with a nobleman in high favour may have promoted his election for Cornwall to the Parliament summoned soon afterwards. On this occasion he and his fellow-Member Henry Chiverton opposed a government measure.5

If Chamond had indeed been numbered among its opponents in this Parliament, the government would not have welcomed his return to its successor, and this may help to explain why he was not chosen to sit for Cornwall in the Parliament of 1558. By contrast, the accession of Elizabeth saw his Protestant kinsmen restored to power in the west and Chamond himself thrice elected a knight of the shire. Although not sharing the radical opinions of some of his relatives he supported the Anglican settlement, and in 1564 the bishop of Exeter judged him ‘meet’ to serve on the Cornish bench, where he remained until his death. Greatly respected by his fellow-justices, Chamond also enjoyed ‘the extraordinary favour of long life’, dying a nonogenarian at Launcells on 11 Apr. 1599.6

Ref Volumes: 1509-1558

Author: J. J. Goring

Notes

  • 1. Did not serve for the full duration of the Parliament.
  • 2. Date of birth estimated from first reference. Vis. Cornw. ed. Vivian, 84; Vis. Cornw. (Harl. Soc. ix), 40, 189-90; C1/754/6.
  • 3. J. Maclean, Trigg Minor, i. 135, 686; LP Hen. VIII, xxi; E179/87/142; CPR, 1553, p. 351; 1553-4, p. 17.
  • 4. C1/754/6, 1055/49-50, 1298/46-48, 1338/12-14; 142/58/64; St. Ch.2/26/90; 3/3/29; LP Hen. VIII, xix-xxi.
  • 5. St.Ch.3/3/29; F. Rose-Troup, The Western Rebellion, 85n; E101/273/20, mm. 2, 3, 274/1, m. 15; CPR, 1553, pp. 12-14, 269; 1554-5, p. 106; Duchy Cornw. RO, E 6/1, mm. IIV, 12; Guildford mus. Loseley 1331/2.
  • 6. Cam. Misc. ix(3), 69; R. Carew, Survey Cornw. (1769), 118; C142/257/50.