Richard Royston
Encyclopedia
Richard Royston was an English
bookseller and publisher, bookseller to Charles I
, Charles II
and James II
.
Royston, the son of an Oxford tailor
Richard Royston and Alice Tideman, was admitted a freeman of the Stationers' Company in 1627. In the 1630s he published work by John Donne
and Thomas Heywood
. His own anti-Parliament pamphlet Pro-quiritatio was suppressed in 1642, and Royston began publishing the work of high-Anglicans like Jeremy Taylor
and Henry Hammond
.
Royston was charged by John Wright, parliamentary printer, on 31 July 1645, as being the "constant factor for all scandalous books and papers against the proceedings of parliament". Royston was confined to the Fleet prison
, and petitioned on 15 August for release. In 1646 he published Francis Quarles
's Judgment and Mercie for afflicted Soules, and wrote and signed the dedication addressed to Charles I. In 1648 appeared, "printed for R. Royston in Ivie Lane", the first edition of Είκώυ Βασιλική
, of which about fifty impressions were issued six months. On 23 May 1649 Royston had entered to him in the register of the Company of Stationers "The Papers which passed at Newcastle betwixt his sacred Majesty and Mr. Henderson concerning the change of church government". He was examined in October 1649 for publishing a "virulent and scandalous pamphlet", and bound in sureties to "make appearance when required and not to print or sell any unlicensed and scandalous books and pamphlets". He came before the council of state again in 1653 for a similar offence. On 29 November 1660 Charles granted to him the monopoly of printing the works of Charles I, in testimony of his fidelity and loyalty, and "of the great losses and troubles he hath sustained in the printing and publishing of many messages and papers of our said Blessed Father, especially those most excellent discourses and soliloquies by the name of Είκώυ Βασιλική [or Eikon Basilike]". On 6 May 1663 Charles II took the unusual course of addressing a letter to the Company of Stationers to request the admission as an assistant of "Mr. R. Royston, an ancient member of this company and his Majesty's bookseller, but not of the livery". As king's bookseller Royston caused the stock of Richard Alleine
's Vindiciæ Pietatis (1664, &c.) to be seized in 1665 for being published without license, but afterwards purchased the stock as waste-paper from the royal kitchen, bound the copies, and sold them. For this he was reprimanded by the privy council. Royston had a further proof of the goodwill of the king on 29 Sept. 1666, when he had a grant of £300 in compassion for losses sustained in the late fire.
"Orthodox Roystone", as John Dunton
called him, was master of the Company of Stationers in 1673 and 1674, and bequeathed plate to the company. He died in 1686 in his eighty-sixth year, and was buried in Christ Church, Newgate Street
. An inscription in the south aisle of the church describes him as "bookseller to three kings", and also commemorates his granddaughter Elizabeth and daughter Mary (d. 1698), who married the bookseller Richard Chiswell
the elder.
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
bookseller and publisher, bookseller to Charles I
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...
, Charles II
Charles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
and James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
Royston, the son of an Oxford tailor
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
Richard Royston and Alice Tideman, was admitted a freeman of the Stationers' Company in 1627. In the 1630s he published work by John Donne
John Donne
John Donne 31 March 1631), English poet, satirist, lawyer, and priest, is now considered the preeminent representative of the metaphysical poets. His works are notable for their strong and sensual style and include sonnets, love poetry, religious poems, Latin translations, epigrams, elegies, songs,...
and Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood
Thomas Heywood was a prominent English playwright, actor, and author whose peak period of activity falls between late Elizabethan and early Jacobean theatre.-Early years:...
. His own anti-Parliament pamphlet Pro-quiritatio was suppressed in 1642, and Royston began publishing the work of high-Anglicans like Jeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor
Jeremy Taylor was a clergyman in the Church of England who achieved fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. He is sometimes known as the "Shakespeare of Divines" for his poetic style of expression and was often presented as a model of prose writing...
and Henry Hammond
Henry Hammond
Henry Hammond was an English churchman.-Early life:He was born at Chertsey in Surrey on 18 August 1605, the youngest son of John Hammond, physician. He was educated at Eton College, and from age 13 at Magdalen College, Oxford, becoming demy or scholar in 1619. On 11 December 1622 he graduated B.A....
.
Royston was charged by John Wright, parliamentary printer, on 31 July 1645, as being the "constant factor for all scandalous books and papers against the proceedings of parliament". Royston was confined to the Fleet prison
Fleet Prison
Fleet Prison was a notorious London prison by the side of the Fleet River in London. The prison was built in 1197 and was in use until 1844. It was demolished in 1846.- History :...
, and petitioned on 15 August for release. In 1646 he published Francis Quarles
Francis Quarles
Francis Quarles was an English poet most famous for his Emblem book aptly entitled Emblems.-Career:Francis was born in Romford, Essex, , and baptised there on 8 May 1592. He traced his ancestry to a family settled in England before the Norman Conquest with a long history in royal service...
's Judgment and Mercie for afflicted Soules, and wrote and signed the dedication addressed to Charles I. In 1648 appeared, "printed for R. Royston in Ivie Lane", the first edition of Είκώυ Βασιλική
Eikon Basilike
The Eikon Basilike , The Pourtrature of His Sacred Majestie in His Solitudes and Sufferings, was a purported spiritual autobiography attributed to King Charles I of England...
, of which about fifty impressions were issued six months. On 23 May 1649 Royston had entered to him in the register of the Company of Stationers "The Papers which passed at Newcastle betwixt his sacred Majesty and Mr. Henderson concerning the change of church government". He was examined in October 1649 for publishing a "virulent and scandalous pamphlet", and bound in sureties to "make appearance when required and not to print or sell any unlicensed and scandalous books and pamphlets". He came before the council of state again in 1653 for a similar offence. On 29 November 1660 Charles granted to him the monopoly of printing the works of Charles I, in testimony of his fidelity and loyalty, and "of the great losses and troubles he hath sustained in the printing and publishing of many messages and papers of our said Blessed Father, especially those most excellent discourses and soliloquies by the name of Είκώυ Βασιλική [or Eikon Basilike]". On 6 May 1663 Charles II took the unusual course of addressing a letter to the Company of Stationers to request the admission as an assistant of "Mr. R. Royston, an ancient member of this company and his Majesty's bookseller, but not of the livery". As king's bookseller Royston caused the stock of Richard Alleine
Richard Alleine
Richard Alleine was an English Puritan divine.He was born at Ditcheat, Somerset, where his father was rector. He was a younger brother of William Alleine, the saintly vicar of Blandford...
's Vindiciæ Pietatis (1664, &c.) to be seized in 1665 for being published without license, but afterwards purchased the stock as waste-paper from the royal kitchen, bound the copies, and sold them. For this he was reprimanded by the privy council. Royston had a further proof of the goodwill of the king on 29 Sept. 1666, when he had a grant of £300 in compassion for losses sustained in the late fire.
"Orthodox Roystone", as John Dunton
John Dunton
John Dunton was an English bookseller and author. In 1691, he founded an Athenian Society to publish The Athenian Mercury, the first major popular periodical and first miscellaneous periodical in England.-Early life:...
called him, was master of the Company of Stationers in 1673 and 1674, and bequeathed plate to the company. He died in 1686 in his eighty-sixth year, and was buried in Christ Church, Newgate Street
Christ Church Greyfriars
Christ Church Greyfriars, also known as Christ Church Newgate, was an Anglican church located on Newgate Street, opposite St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London. Built first in the gothic style, then in the English Baroque style by Sir Christopher Wren, it ranked among the City's most notable...
. An inscription in the south aisle of the church describes him as "bookseller to three kings", and also commemorates his granddaughter Elizabeth and daughter Mary (d. 1698), who married the bookseller Richard Chiswell
Richard Chiswell
Richard Chiswell was a wealthy English merchant and politician. He served as Whig MP for Calne in Wiltshire from 1715 to 1721, and was a director of the Bank of England....
the elder.