Sir Richard Vyvyan, 1st Baronet (c. 1613 – 3 October 1665) was an English 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...

 at various times between 1640 and 1665. He supported the Royalist cause in the English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...

.

Vyvyan was the eldest son of Sir Francis Vyvyan

Francis Vyvyan

Sir Francis Vyvyan , of Trelowarren in Cornwall, was an English Member of Parliament ; his surname is sometimes spelt Vivian...

 (1575-1635), head of one of Cornwall's leading families who had been both a Member of Parliament and High Sheriff of Cornwall

High Sheriff of Cornwall

High Sheriffs of Cornwall: a chronological list:Note: The right to choose High Sheriffs each year is vested in the Duchy of Cornwall, rather than the Privy Council, chaired by the Sovereign, which chooses the Sheriffs of all other English counties, other than those in the Duchy of...

. He was of Trelowarren, 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...

, when he was knighted at Whitehall on 1 March 1636, shortly after his father's death.

In April 1640, Vyvyan 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 Penryn

Penryn (UK Parliament constituency)

Penryn was a parliamentary borough in Cornwall, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons of England from 1553 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and finally to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom from 1801 to until 1832...

 in the Short Parliament

Short Parliament

The Short Parliament was a Parliament of England that sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640 during the reign of King Charles I of England, so called because it lasted only three weeks....

. He was elected MP for Tregony

Tregony (UK Parliament constituency)

Tregony was a rotten borough in Cornwall which was represented in the Model Parliament of 1295, and returned two Members of Parliament to the English and later British Parliament continuously from 1562 to 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act....

 for the Long Parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was made on 3 November 1640, following the Bishops' Wars. It received its name from the fact that through an Act of Parliament, it could only be dissolved with the agreement of the members, and those members did not agree to its dissolution until after the English Civil War and...

 in November 1640. He supported the King in the Civil War and joined the King's

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...

 Parliament at Oxford rather than remaining at Westminster. He established a Royalist mint in Truro in 1642-43 and was Master of the Mint there and when it was moved to Exeter

Exeter

Exeter is a historic city in Devon, England. It lies within the ceremonial county of Devon, of which it is the county town as well as the home of Devon County Council. Currently the administrative area has the status of a non-metropolitan district, and is therefore under the administration of the...

 in September 1643. He was disabled from sitting in the House of Commons in January 1644. King Charles rewarded him for his loyalty by creating him a baronet

Vyvyan Baronets

The Vyvyan Baronetcy, of Trelowarren in the County of Cornwall, is a title in the Baronetage of England. It was created on 12 February 1645 for Richard Vyvyan, Member of Parliament for Penrhyn, Tregony and St Mawes and Master of the Mint. The second Baronet represented St Mawes and Helston in the...

 on 12 February 1645. He was subsequently fined £600 and had his estate sequestrated.

After the Restoration

English Restoration

The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...

, Vyvyan returned once more to public life. He stood for as MP for St Mawes

St Mawes (UK Parliament constituency)

St Mawes was a rotten borough in Cornwall. It returned two Members of Parliament ) to the House of Commons of England from 1562 to 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom until it was abolished by the Great Reform Act in...

 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...

 in 1661 but was excluded in a double return. He was later elected MP for St Mawes in a by-election in 1663 and sat until his death in 1665.

Vyvyan married Mary Bulteel, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by their eldest son, Vyell.