Richard Davey was one of the two MPs for the West Cornwall Constituency

West Cornwall (UK Parliament constituency)

West Cornwall was a county constituency in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election.- Boundaries :...

 for eleven years . He was a JP

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

 and a Deputy Lieutenant

Deputy Lieutenant

In the United Kingdom, a Deputy Lieutenant is one of several deputies to the Lord Lieutenant of a lieutenancy area; an English ceremonial county, Welsh preserved county, Scottish lieutenancy area, or Northern Irish county borough or county....

 of the County of Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

 .

His family

He was a son of William Davey (d.1827), a solicitor of Redruth

Redruth

Redruth is a town and civil parish traditionally in the Penwith Hundred in Cornwall, United Kingdom. It has a population of 12,352. Redruth lies approximately at the junction of the A393 and A3047 roads, on the route of the old London to Land's End trunk road , and is approximately west of...

 and Elizabeth Martyn (b.1756), his wife. His older brother, Stephen (1785–1864) was also a JP and a Deputy Lieutenant of the County. There was another brother, William, who was a solicitor and died in 1849. Stephen and Richard were "adventurers" in the development of Cornish mines, during the boom period. They acquired an ancient manor house and estate at Bochym in Cury .

Parliamentary service

He was elected to the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 for one of the two seats of West Cornwall at the General Election

United Kingdom general election, 1857

-Seats summary:-References:*F. W. S. Craig, British Electoral Facts: 1832-1987* British Electoral Facts 1832-1999, compiled and edited by Colin Rallings and Michael Thrasher *...

 of 1857, as a Liberal, following the retirement of Sir Charles Lemon

Charles Lemon

Sir Charles Lemon, 2nd Baronet Lemon of Carclew was a British Member of Parliament for several constituencies and a baronet.-Service in Parliament:...

. Michael Williams

Michael Williams (MP)

Michael Williams was MP for West Cornwall from 19 July 1853 until his death in June 1858.He was the second son of John Williams "the Third" , the Cornish industrialist, of the Williams family...

, another Liberal, held the other seat. were elected without opposition on 2 April, John Tremayne, the Conservative, having stood down . He was re-elected for this seat until 1868.

Death

He died 1884 , aged 85, unmarried. His nephew, Joshua Sydney Davey (1842–1909), son of Stephen inherited his estate at Bochym in the Parish of Cury

Cury

Cury is a civil parish and village in southwest Cornwall, United Kingdom. It is situated approximately four miles south of Helston on The Lizard peninsula. The parish is named for St Corentin and is recorded in the Domesday Book as Chori....

.