Richard Atherton

Sir Richard Atherton, Tory politician and an English Member of Parliament elected in 1671 representing Liverpool (UK Parliament constituency). He also served as Mayor of Liverpool from 1684 to 1685. He resided at Bewsey Old Hall, Warrington and died in 1687.[1]

Early life

Born in Warrington on 22nd September 1656, the son of John Atherton and Mary Rawsthone. His father served as a Captain in the parliamentary army during the English Civil War. Later he served twice as Sheriff of Lancaster under the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell. Atherton was educated at Brasenose College, Oxford in 1672 and Grays Inn in 1675.

Political career

Whilst his father had been a parliamentarian who fought against the royalists, his political career took place during the period of Restoration covering the reign of Charles II (1660–1685) and the brief reign of his younger brother James II (1685–1688). [2]

He was Knighted months after the aftermath of the Rye House Plot of 1683 (a plot to assassinate the King), a period of trials and executions. These were politically turbulent times, leading to the rebellion of 1685, the Monmouth Rebellion and Argyll's Rising.[3]

His terms in office from Member of Parliament, to Mayor and to Alderman of Liverpool, covered the whole Restoration period of Stuart monarchs, a period which ended with the death of Queen Anne.

Member of Parliament

He was elected as Member of Parliament for Liverpool in 1671, but was unseated on petition.[4]

Lord Mayor of Liverpool

In 1684 he became Lord Mayor of Liverpool. He secured the surrender of the Liverpool Charter, which was delivered to George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys, known as Judge Jeffreys at Bewsey Old Hall in 1684. The notes on the Liverpool Charters refer you him as the first modern Mayor of Liverpool.[5]

Personal

He inherited Bewsey Old Hall from Dame Margaret Ireland upon her death in 1675. He married Isabel, the daughter of Richard Holt on 22 November 1676. They had one son Jonathan. He married Agnes, the daughter of Miles Dodding of Conishead on 1 November 1686.

He was knighted on 22 June 1684 by King Charles II at Windsor Castle.

Death

He died in Warrington and was buried there on 11 January 1687.

References
  1. The House of Commons, 1660-1690. 1983. ISBN 9780436192746.
  2. Touzeau, James (1910). The Rise and Progress of Liverpool from 1551 to 1835 |. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  3. Local Gleanings Relating to Lancashire and Cheshire: V.1-2, April 1875-Dec. 1878 |. 1876. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  4. Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire, Volumes 35-37 - Liverpool Charters|. 1886. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  5. "Liverpool Town Hall - MAYORS OF THE CITY OF LIVERPOOL SINCE 1207".
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