View source for Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork

{{Short description|English politician (1566–1643)}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}}
{{Infobox noble
|name        = The Earl of Cork
|image       = Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork .PNG
|caption     = The 1st Earl of Cork
|birth_date  = 13 October 1566
|birth_place = [[Canterbury]], [[Kent]], England
|death_date  = {{Death date and age|1643|09|15|1566|10|13|df=y}}
|death_place = 
|title       = 1st Earl of Cork
|tenure      = 1629–1643 
|other_titles = Lord Treasurer of the [[Kingdom of Ireland]]
|other_names = 
|known_for   = Plantations of Ireland
|locality    = 
}}
'''Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork''' (13 October 1566 – 15 September 1643), also known as 'the Great Earl of Cork', was an English politician who served as Lord Treasurer of the [[Kingdom of Ireland]].

Lord Cork was an important figure in the continuing [[Kingdom of England|English]] colonisation of Ireland in the 16th and 17th centuries, as he acquired large tracts of land in [[Plantations of Ireland|plantations]] in [[Munster]] in southern Ireland. Moreover, his sons played an important role in fighting against the Irish Catholic rebellion in the 1640s and 1650s, assisting in the victory of the British and Protestant interests in Ireland.

In addition to being the first [[Earl of Cork]], he was the patriarch of the Boyle family through his many prominent descendants, whose titles included [[Earl of Orrery]] (1660), [[Earl of Burlington]] (1664) and [[Earl of Shannon]] (1756).<ref name="burke">{{cite book |title= Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knighthood|publisher=Burke's Peerage & Gentry |editor= Mosley, Charles |edition=107 |year= 2003 |pages=898–899 |ref=Burke |isbn=0-9711966-2-1}}</ref>

==Background==
Boyle was born at [[Canterbury]] on 13 October 1566, the second son of Roger Boyle (d. 24 March 1576 at Preston, near [[Faversham]] in Kent), a descendant of an ancient landed [[Herefordshire]] family, and of Joan (15 October 1529&nbsp;–20 March 1586), daughter of John Naylor, who were married in Canterbury on 16 October 1564. Both his parents are interred in an [[alabaster]] tomb at the upper end of the chancel of the parish church of Preston.<ref>[[John Lodge (archivist)|Lodge, John]], (Keeper of The Rolls), with Archdall, Mervyn, A.M., (member of the Royal Irish Academy), ''The Peerage of Ireland'', Dublin, 1789: 150–1</ref> His elder brother was [[John Boyle (bishop)|John Boyle]], Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross.

Young Boyle went to [[The King's School, Canterbury]], at the same time as [[Christopher Marlowe]]. His university education began at [[Corpus Christi College, Cambridge|Bennet (Corpus Christi) College, Cambridge]], England, in 1583.<ref>{{acad|id=BL583R|name=Boyle, Richard}}</ref> After this he studied law at the [[Middle Temple]] in London and became a clerk to Sir [[Roger Manwood]], Kt., who was then the [[Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer]].

Before completing his studies, Boyle decided "to gain learning, knowledge, and experience abroad in the world"<ref name=lodgearchdall152>Lodge & Archdall, ''The Peerage of Ireland'', 1789: 152</ref> and left London for a new start in Ireland. He arrived in [[Dublin]] on 23 June 1588<ref name="National Biography page 133">{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=George |last2=Lee |first2=Sidney |year=1920 |title=Concise Dictionary of National Biography, founded 1882 by George Smith |url=https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati00smit/page/iii/mode/1up |page=[https://archive.org/details/dictionaryofnati00smit/page/133/mode/1up 133]|publisher=[Oxford] Oxford University Press }}</ref> with just over £27 (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|27|1588|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK}}as well as a gold bracelet worth £10 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|10|1588|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK}} and a diamond ring (given to him by his mother at her death and which he wore all his life), besides some fine clothing, and his "rapier and dagger".<ref name=lodgearchdall152/>

In 1590 he obtained the appointment of deputy [[Escheator]] to John Crofton, the Escheator-General. On 6 November 1595, he married [[Joan Apsley]], the daughter and co-heiress of William Apsley of [[Limerick]], one of the council to the first President of the province of [[Munster]].<ref name=lodgearchdall152/> This marriage brought Boyle an estate of £500 a year (equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|500|1595|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}),{{Inflation-fn|UK}} which he continued to receive until at least 1632.

Joan died at [[Mallow, County Cork]] on 14 December 1599 during childbirth (the son was still-born). Both were buried in [[Buttevant]] church, [[County Cork]].

It is said by his detractors that unlike many of his other close relatives whom he took great care to commemorate, he took no trouble to have Joan commemorated after her death, leading to the conviction among some that his (in every sense) monumental commemorative endeavours were entirely practical (in terms of securing his personal objectives) rather than sentimental (her connections being of no direct use to him after her death).

==Political career==
Boyle by this time had been the object of the attacks of Sir [[Henry Wallop]], Treasurer at War, Sir [[Robert Gardiner (Chief Justice)|Robert Gardiner]], [[Lord Chief Justice of Ireland]], Sir [[Robert Dillon (judge)|Robert Dillon]], [[Chief Justice of the Irish Common Pleas]], and Sir [[Richard Bingham (soldier)|Richard Bingham]], Chief Commissioner of [[Connacht|Connaught]], a demonstration, said Boyle, of their envy of his success and increasing prosperity.<ref>Lodge & Archdall, ''The Peerage of Ireland'', 1789: 153</ref>

Boyle was arrested on charges of fraud and collusion with the Spanish (essentially accusations of covert papist infiltration, a treasonable offence for an official in Queen Elizabeth I's Protestant civil service) in his office. He was thrown into prison (at least once by [[Sir William FitzWilliam]] in about 1592) several times during this episode. He was about to leave for England to justify himself to Queen [[Elizabeth I]], when there was a rebellion in [[Munster]] in October 1598, and "all my lands were wasted"<ref name=lodgearchdall152/> which once again returned him to poverty. The [[Nine Years' War (Ireland)|Nine Years' War]] arrived in Munster with Irish rebels from Ulster, who were joined by locals who had lost land to English settlers. Boyle was forced to flee to [[Cork (city)|Cork]] for safety.

This turn of events left him obliged to return to London and his chambers at The Temple. At this point, he was almost immediately taken into the service of [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex]].

Henry Wallop then renewed his prosecution of Boyle. Boyle was summoned to appear at the [[Court of Star Chamber]]. In the proceedings, Boyle's adversaries seem to have failed to substantiate their accusations. Boyle had somehow managed to secure the attendance of Queen Elizabeth I herself at the proceedings, and he successfully exposed some misconduct on the part of his adversaries.

Elizabeth famously said: "By God's death, these are but inventions against the young man" <ref>{{cite web |last1=Fell Smith |first1=Charlotte |title=Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick, 1625-1678 : her family and friends |url=https://archive.org/stream/maryrichcountess00felluoft/maryrichcountess00felluoft_djvu.txt |website=Internet Archive|date=1901 }}</ref> and she also said he was "a man fit to be employed by ourselves".{{citation needed|date=March 2021}}

He was immediately appointed Clerk of the Council of Munster by Elizabeth I in 1600. In December 1601, Boyle brought to Elizabeth the news of the victory near [[Kinsale]].

In October 1602, Boyle was again sent over by [[Sir George Carew]], the president of Munster, on Irish affairs. He was knighted at [[St. Mary's Abbey, Dublin|St Mary's Abbey]], near Dublin, by Carew on 25 July 1603.<ref name="National Biography page 133"/> the same day that he married his second wife, [[Catherine Fenton Boyle|Catherine]], daughter of Sir [[Geoffrey Fenton]], Principal Secretary of State. In 1606 he was appointed as Privy Councillor for Munster and in 1612 as [[Privy Councillor]] for Ireland.<ref name="National Biography page 133"/><ref>Lodge & Archdall, ''The Peerage of Ireland'', 1789: 156</ref>

==Acquisition of property, rank, and titles==
[[File:Lismore Castle 2.jpg|thumb|Lismore Castle, County Waterford]]
In 1602, Richard Boyle bought [[Sir Walter Raleigh]]'s estates of {{convert|42000|acre|km2}} for £1,500 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|1500|1602|r=-1}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}){{Inflation-fn|UK}} in the counties of [[County Cork|Cork]] (including [[Myrtle Grove, Youghal|Myrtle Grove]]), [[County Waterford|Waterford]] (including [[Lismore Castle]]) and [[County Tipperary|Tipperary]].<ref name="National Biography page 133"/> He made these purchases on the insistence of [[George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes|Sir George Carew]]. Boyle made [[Lismore Castle]] his chief country abode <ref>Lyttleton 2018, 130</ref> after purchasing it and turned it into a magnificent residence with impressive gabled ranges on each side of the courtyard. He also built a crenellated outer wall and a gatehouse known as the Riding Gate for the castle. The principal apartments of the castle were decorated with fretwork plaster ceilings, tapestry hangings, embroidered silks, and velvet. Boyle also had a substantial residence at Youghal, besides Myrtle Grove, known today as "The College", close to the [[Collegiate Church of St Mary Youghal]]. Order on the Boyle estates was maintained in 13 castles which were garrisoned by retainers. The town of [[Clonakilty]] was formally founded in 1613 by him when he received a charter from [[James VI and I|King James I of England]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.clon.ie/text/clients/mdltour.htm|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20021002043523/http://www.clon.ie/text/clients/mdltour.htm|archive-date = 2 October 2002|title = Clon.ie}}</ref>

Boyle was then returned as a burgh commissioner (Member of Parliament) for [[Lismore (Parliament of Ireland constituency)|Lismore]] in the [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish Parliament]] of 1614, (held at [[Dublin Castle]]) on 18 May 1614. He ascended to the Irish Peerage as '''Lord Boyle, Baron of Youghal''' on 6 September 1616.

Lord Boyle claimed to have built the town of [[Bandon, County Cork|Bandon]] in County Cork, but in fact, the town was planned and built by Henry Beecher, John Archdeacon, and William Newce.<ref>p253 The Munster plantation: English migration to Southern Ireland, 1583–1641 By Michael MacCarthy-Morrogh, Oxford University Press, 1986</ref> The land on which Bandon was built had been granted by Queen Elizabeth I to Phane Beecher in 1586, and inherited by his eldest son Henry who then sold it to Boyle in November 1618.<ref>The Lismore Papers by Rev A Grosart, 1886, Vol 1 (Boyle papers)</ref> In Bandon, Boyle founded iron-smelting and linen-weaving industries and brought in English settlers, many from [[Bristol]].

Lord Boyle was created '''Earl of Cork''' and '''Viscount Dungarvan''' on 26 October 1620.<ref name="National Biography page 133"/> He then occupied the office of Sheriff from 1625 to 1626. On 26 October 1629, he was appointed as a [[Lord Justice of Appeal|Lord Justice]],<ref name="National Biography page 133"/> and on 9 November 1631, he became the [[Lord Treasurer of Ireland]].<ref name="National Biography page 133"/> Although he was not a [[Peerage of England|Peer]] in the [[English Parliament]], it is nonetheless recorded that he was "by writ called into the Upper House by His Majesty's great grace", and he subsequently took up the honoured position of an "assistant sitting on the inside of the [[Woolsack]]."

[[Oliver Cromwell]] is reported to have said of Lord Cork 'If there had been an Earl of Cork in every province, it would have been impossible for the Irish to have raised a rebellion.' One of Lord Cork's major political allies during the era was [[Piers Crosby]].

It is a mistake to see Lord Cork's 'empire' as merely being exclusively confined to the development of the 'Raleigh estates': for instance, his acquisition of the entirety of the town of Bandon was not completed until 1625. Other towns which also form part of Lord Cork's municipal development legacy (which records employment of over 4,000 people during his lifetime) include [[Midleton]], [[Castlemartyr]], [[Charleville, County Cork|Charleville]] and [[Doneraile]].

By 1636, Lord Cork had opted to live in the [[West Country]] to see out the rest of his days. He purchased from [[James Tuchet, 3rd Earl of Castlehaven|The 3rd Earl of Castlehaven]], for £5,000, the manor of [[Stalbridge]] in [[Dorset]] which became his English seat, and in 1637, he laid out a further £20,000 for Temple Coombe Manor, close by in [[Somerset]]. Lord Cork, at the insistence of the Howards, also bought Annery House near [[Bideford]] in 1640 for £5000. The Earl was most delighted with Annery House and the living that came with the estate; he was also delighted that he could easily travel to Youghal from Bideford. Annery House was left to his sixth son [[Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon|Francis Boyle]] upon his death in 1643. Lord Cork had also been left the manor of [[Salcombe]] in [[Devon]] by his friend Thomas Stafford, the illegitimate son of [[George Carew, 1st Earl of Totnes]]. Salcombe, along with Halberton Manor, was also left to his son Francis and his wife [[Elizabeth Killigrew, Viscountess Shannon|Elizabeth Killigrew]].

==Boyle's adversaries==
The Great Earl's most famous enemy was [[Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford]].<ref name="National Biography page 133"/> Strafford arrived in Ireland in 1633 as Lord Deputy, and at first successfully deprived Boyle of much of his privilege and income. Boyle patiently husbanded forces in opposition to Strafford's Irish program and this successful political manoeuvering by Boyle was an important factor in Strafford's demise. It may be said in defence of Boyle that he would have been quite prepared to work amicably with Strafford, had Strafford not quickly made it clear that he saw Boyle as an "over-mighty subject",<ref>Wedgwood p.180</ref> whose power must be curbed, if not crushed entirely. Boyle initially made friendly overtures, and tried to establish a family link by marrying his eldest son Richard to Elizabeth Clifford, a niece of Strafford's first wife, but soon abandoned any hope of an amicable relationship.

An illuminating example of the humiliations to which Wentworth subjected Boyle, was the instance where he forced Boyle to remove his wife's tomb from the choir in [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin]]. He was also prosecuted in the [[Court of Castle Chamber]], the Irish equivalent of [[Star Chamber]], for alleged misappropriation of the funds of [[Youghal|Youghal College]].

Archbishop [[William Laud]] delighted in Wentworth's attacks on Boyle and wrote: "No physic better than a vomit if it be given in time, and therefore you have taken a very judicious course to administer one so early to my Lord of Cork. I hope it will do him good".<ref>Wedgwood pp186-7</ref>

Laud and Wentworth shared, with King Charles I, the same fate as many others, who at some time in their lives, found reasons to conspire against Boyle: an early demise. With Boyle showing his customary astuteness by putting on a convincing show of politically appropriate response at every crucial juncture. His one serious miscalculation was his failure to anticipate the Irish Rebellion of 1641.

Boyle made an entry concerning Wentworth in his diary: "A most cursed man to all Ireland and to me in particular".<ref>Wedgwood p.181</ref>

At Wentworth's trial, Boyle was a key witness,<ref name="National Biography page 133"/> but he did not take any other direct part in the prosecution itself. Unsurprisingly, he was in full support of the condemnation of Wentworth and wholeheartedly approved of his execution: he made a grim entry in his diary: "Lord Strafford was beheaded on the Tower Hill, as he well deserved".<ref>Wedgwood p.390</ref>

From his children, Boyle expected obedience, although he was a genuinely affectionate father, and far more forgiving of opposition from them than from his political enemies. Lady Mary, "my unruly daughter"<ref>Lenox-Conyngham ''"Diaries of Ireland"'' Lilliput Press 1998 p.13</ref> angered her father by refusing to marry [[James Hamilton, 1st Earl of Clanbrassil (first creation)|Lord Clanbrassil]] on the rather modern ground that she found him repulsive, and again by marrying the future Earl of Warwick, who was then a penniless younger son, against her father's wishes; but they were soon reconciled and he furnished her with a generous dowry.

Boyle died at [[Youghal]] in September 1643, having been chased off his lands in the [[Irish Rebellion of 1641]]. His sons, however, recovered the family estates after the suppression of the rebellion. Boyle's tomb is in Youghal's [[Collegiate Church of St Mary Youghal|St Mary's Collegiate Church]].

==Boyle's "philosophical" legacy==
Lord Cork has been described as the "first colonial millionaire".

Historian [[R.F. Foster (historian)|Roy Foster]], in his ''Modern Ireland'', calls him an 'epitome of Elizabethan adventurer-colonist in Ireland'.

The Boyle motto is: 'God's Providence is my inheritance'.

Lord Cork's theopolitical philosophy has been described as 'providentialist' when contrasted with its counterpart which prevailed to the north in parts of [[Ulster]] at the time, which is more typically characterised as [[Presbyterian]].

Such a comparison of these two standpoints is neither exclusively religious nor secular, a factor which perhaps offers some small insight as to how Lord Cork managed to achieve what seems now the extraordinary feat of gaining strong favour at various times with the leaders on either side of the [[English Civil War]].

==Issue==
[[File:St Mary's Collegiate Church, Youghal (Sir Richard Boyle Memorial) - geograph.org.uk - 1392224.jpg|thumb|Tomb in St Mary's Collegiate church, Youghal]]
{{more citations needed section|date=March 2021}}
By his second wife, Catherine Fenton, daughter of Sir [[Geoffrey Fenton]] and his wife Alice Weston, the 1st Earl of Cork had fifteen children:

*Roger Boyle (1 August 1606, [[Youghal]], [[County Cork]], Ireland–10 October 1615, [[Deptford]], Kent, England, where he was buried).
*Lady Alice Boyle (1607–1667), married [[David Barry, 1st Earl of Barrymore]], then after his death, married John Barry, of Liscarroll, co Cork, Ireland.
*Lady Sarah Boyle (1609–1633), married Sir Thomas Moore, then after his death married [[Robert Digby, 1st Baron Digby]].
*Lady Lettice Boyle (1610–1657), married Colonel [[George Goring, Lord Goring]].
*Lady Joan Boyle (1611–1657), married [[George FitzGerald, 16th Earl of Kildare]] ("the Fairy Earl").
*[[Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Burlington|Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork and 1st Earl of Burlington]] (1612–1698), [[Lord High Treasurer of Ireland]] (1660–1695).
*[[Katherine Jones, Viscountess Ranelagh|Lady Katherine Boyle]] (1615–1691), married [[Arthur Jones, 2nd Viscount Ranelagh]].
*Hon. Geoffrey Boyle
*Lady Dorothy Boyle, married [[Arthur Loftus|Sir Arthur Loftus]] of [[Rathfarnham]] and was the mother of [[Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Lisburne]].
*Lewis Boyle, 1st [[Viscount Boyle of Kinalmeaky]] (1619–1642), succeeded under special remainder by his older brother Richard.
*[[Roger Boyle, 1st Earl of Orrery]] (1621–1679)
*[[Francis Boyle, 1st Viscount Shannon]]
*[[Mary Rich, Countess of Warwick|Lady Mary Boyle]], married [[Charles Rich, 4th Earl of Warwick]].<ref>{{Cite DNB |last=Smith |first=Charlotte Fell |wstitle=Rich, Mary |volume=48 |page=118}}</ref>
*Hon. [[Robert Boyle]] (1627–1691), author of ''[[The Sceptical Chymist]]''; considered to be the father of modern [[chemistry]].
*Lady Margaret Boyle

Boyle erected an elaborate monument to himself, his wives, his mother, and his children in The [[Collegiate Church of St Mary Youghal]], [[County Cork]] and there is a similar but much larger Boyle monument in [[St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin]]. His elder brother John is also buried in the tomb.
[[File:Boyles Monument St Patrick.jpg|thumb|Boyle's Monument in St. Patrick's Cathedral]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|last=Canny|first= Nicholas P|title= ''The Upstart Earl:Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork''}}
* {{cite book|last=Townshend|first= D|title=''The Life and Letters of the Great Earl of Cork''|url=https://archive.org/details/lifeandlettersg00towngoog|date= 1904}}
* {{cite web|first=George|last=Bennett|url=http://www.paulturner.ca/Ireland/Cork/HOB/HOB%20Main.htm|title=The History of Bandon|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031013025524/http://www.paulturner.ca/Ireland/Cork/HOB/HOB%20Main.htm|archive-date=13 October 2003}}
* {{cite journal|last= Harris|first= A.L|url= http://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/bibliography_Foreign.htm|title= The Funerary Monuments of Richard Boyle, Earl of Cork|journal= Church Monuments|volume= 13|date= 1998|pages= 70–86|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20020816065300/http://www.mbs-brasses.co.uk/bibliography_Foreign.htm|archive-date= 16 August 2002}}
* Lyttleton, James, 2018 Richard Boyle's patronage of elite architecture, pages 121-148 in The Colonial World of Richard Boyle, First Earl of Cork. eds David Edwards & Colin Rynne.
*Wedgwood, C.V. "Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford-a Revaluation" Phoenix Press reissue 2000

==External links==
*[http://homepage.tinet.ie/~youghal/rboylesm.jpg Portrait]
*[http://www.npg.org.uk/live/search/portrait.asp?search=ss&sText=boyle&LinkID=mp01029&rNo=0&role=sit Earlier portrait at the National Portrait Gallery, London]
* {{cite book |last1=Hutchinson |first1=John |title=Men of Kent and Kentishmen |date=1892 |publisher=Cross & Jackman |location=Canterbury |page=23 |edition=Subscription |chapter=[[s:Men of Kent and Kentishmen/|Men of Kent and Kentishmen/]]}}
*{{wikisource-inline|list=
**{{cite DNB |wstitle=Boyle, Richard (1566-1643)|volume=6 |pages=113–116 |short=x |noicon=x |ref=none}}
**{{cite EB1911|wstitle=Cork, Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of|volume=7|pages=155–156|short=x |noicon=x |ref=none}}
}}
**{{Cite IrishBio |wstitle=Boyle, Richard, Earl of Cork |short=x |noicon=x |ref=none}}

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{{s-ttl|title = [[Earl of Cork]]|years = 1620–1643}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Richard Boyle, 2nd Earl of Cork|Richard Boyle]]}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cork, Richard Boyle, 1st Earl Of}}
[[Category:1566 births]]
[[Category:1643 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century Anglo-Irish people]]
[[Category:17th-century Anglo-Irish people]]
[[Category:Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Boyle family|Richard]]
[[Category:Earls of Cork|1st]]
[[Category:Irish MPs 1613–1615]]

[[Category:Lord high treasurers of Ireland]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies]]
[[Category:Peers of Ireland created by James I]]
[[Category:Politicians from Canterbury]]