Richard Kirkby was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 politician who sat in the House of Commons

House of Commons of England

The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...

 from 1661 to 1681.

Kirkby was the son of Roger Kirkby

Roger Kirkby (Royalist)

Roger Kirkby was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1642. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War.Kirkby was the son of Roger Kirkby of Kirkby Ireleth in Lonsdale...

 or Kirby of Kirkby Ireleth

Kirkby Ireleth

Kirkby Ireleth is a civil parish in the South Lakeland district of the English county of Cumbria. It includes the villages of Grizebeck and Kirkby in Furness; and the hamlets of Beanthwaite, Beck Side, Chapels, Soutergate, Wall End and Woodland. The parish has a population of 1,247....

, Lancashire

Lancashire

Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...

 and his wife Agnes Lowther, sister of Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet.

Kirkby was a justice of the peace

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...

. He was elected Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

 for Lancaster

Lancaster (UK Parliament constituency)

Lancaster was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1867, centred on the historic city of Lancaster in north-west England...

 in 1661 for the Cavalier Parliament

Cavalier Parliament

The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter century reign of Charles II of England...

 and retained the seat until his death in 1681.

Kirkby married thrice. His first wife was Elizabeth Murray by whom he had children Roger Kirkby

Roger Kirkby

Colonel Roger Kirkby was an English soldier and politician, of Kirkby Ireleth in Lancashire, the eldest son of Richard Kirkby and his first wife Elizabeth Murray....

 (c.1649–1709), Agnes and Temperence. He married secondly Isabel Huddleston, daughter of Sir William Huddleston of Millom and had children Capt. Richard Kirkby, RN (c.1657–1703), shot for cowardice, William Kirkby (b. c.1658) and Elizabeth Kirkby. His third wife was Helen Maxey and he had children Greville Kirkby (b. 1662) and Mary Kirkby.