Richard Drake
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
, was the son of John Drake, of Ashe, and Amy (née Grenville); he was a brother of Sir Bernard Drake. He served as factor and prize agent to Sir Francis Drake
Francis Drake
Sir Francis Drake, Vice Admiral was an English sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver, and politician of the Elizabethan era. Elizabeth I of England awarded Drake a knighthood in 1581. He was second-in-command of the English fleet against the Spanish Armada in 1588. He also carried out the...
(to whom he may have been very distantly related), taking charge of the Spanish Armada
Spanish Armada
This article refers to the Battle of Gravelines, for the modern navy of Spain, see Spanish NavyThe Spanish Armada was the Spanish fleet that sailed against England under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia in 1588, with the intention of overthrowing Elizabeth I of England to stop English...
prisoners taken off Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
in 1588, which included the Spanish vice-admiral, Don Pedro de Valdés, whom he kept at his manor of Esher
Esher Place
Esher Place is a Grade-II listed country house, now used as a college by the trade union Unite, in Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom. The current building is at least the fourth on the site.-History:...
in Surrey, pending arrangements for the ransom, a subject over which his heirs and those of Sir Francis quarrelled.
Richard Drake held the manor of Esher
Esher Place
Esher Place is a Grade-II listed country house, now used as a college by the trade union Unite, in Esher, Surrey, United Kingdom. The current building is at least the fourth on the site.-History:...
at the time of his death and bequeathed it to his only child, Francis, who sold it after 1631. The ancient manor house
Manor house
A manor house is a country house that historically formed the administrative centre of a manor, the lowest unit of territorial organisation in the feudal system in Europe. The term is applied to country houses that belonged to the gentry and other grand stately homes...
had been a seat of Cardinal Wolsey, purchased from him by Henry VIII
Henry VIII of England
Henry VIII was King of England from 21 April 1509 until his death. He was Lord, and later King, of Ireland, as well as continuing the nominal claim by the English monarchs to the Kingdom of France...
, temporarily returned to the see under Mary
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and eventually conveyed by Elizabeth
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death. Sometimes called The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth was the fifth and last monarch of the Tudor dynasty...
to Charles, Lord Howard of Effingham
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham
Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham , known as Howard of Effingham, was an English statesman and Lord High Admiral under Elizabeth I and James I...
, from whom Drake must have purchased it.
He married Ursula Stafford, daughter of Sir William Stafford.