Relhan Collection : 103 Arms of William Lord Richardson (1735) and Sir Thomas Richardson d.1642

Relhan, Richard, 1782-1844

Relhan Collection

<p style='text-align: justify;'><p>An exceptional drawing apparently representing diagrammatically the armorial charges on a monument in Honingham (Norfolk) church. Relhan (or possibly another) has written the following long note: ‘<i>Sir Thomas Richardson Kn</i>t <i>created Heir apparent to the Barony of Cramond, but never lived to enjoy it, for he died in 1642 aged 45, before his Mother in Law, and lies buried in Honingham Chancel Norfolk, under a black Marble in the Altar Rails’ , with a suitable inscription. Near the above are the Coats of Arms with those of his two Ladies on each side</i>.’ These form part of a magnificent wall monument in which the arms of his unidentified wives are in oval marble cushions at the upper angles of the monument chiefly comprising a marble bust set into a black recess flanked by colonnettes with Ionic volutes above a panel with a long Latin epitaph. Above this monument is set a further rectangular marble panel on which are sculpted the Richardson arms with crest, ambiguously labelled above as those of Sir Thomas and below of his great grandson William Lord Richardson. Relhan has squeezed in between a further note in two boxes, ‘<i>William Lord Richardson born February 1714, died single 28 July 1735 and is buried at East Walton Norfolk</i>’. Sir Thomas’ wives were Elizabeth daughter of Sir William Hewett of Pishiobury, Herts (Arms No.1) and Mary widow of Sir Miles Sandys of Miserden, Glos (Arms No.2). His great grandson William Lord Richardson 1714 – 1735, 5th Baron Cramond, died of consumption and was buried at East Walton, Norfolk, leaving his sister Elizabeth to inherit. Unfortunately her guardian John Jermy forced the 21-year-old heiress to marry his son, William Jermy of Bayfield (<b>315</b>), but she ran away within a month, declaring ‘She would not be made a mould to cast fools in.’ Horace Walpole admired her spirit and relayed the scandal in a letter to the British envoy in Florence, declaring ‘I think I never heard a more expressive expression ‘, an opinion that was rapidly passed around fashionable society. The engraving in Blomefield is dedicated to her.</p><p>Blomefield 1739; Saunders P pers comm; Venn </p></p>