Richard Cholmondeley

Sir Richard Cholmondeley (or Cholmeley) (c. 1460–1521) was an English farmer and soldier, who served as Lieutenant of the Tower of London from 1513 to 1520 during the reign of Henry VIII.

He is remembered because of his tomb at the Tower of London and because he is fictionalized as a character in Gilbert and Sullivan's darkly comic opera, The Yeomen of the Guard.

Knighted in 1497 for valour in battle against the Scots, Cholmeley continued to serve as a soldier until 1513, becoming entrusted with many positions of responsibility for security of castles and fortifications in England.

While Richard was very young, his family moved to East Yorkshire, where his maternal grandfather held extensive estates.

In 1497, he served under Thomas Howard, Earl of Surrey to repel a Scots assault at Norham Castle, a stronghold of the Bishopric of Durham.

[3] While Roger settled in the constable's lodgings at the castle, Sir Richard purchased a small estate and house at nearby Thornton on the Hill (now part of Thornton-le-Dale).

[2][9] Cholmeley's maintenance works included the complete rebuilding of the chapel of St Peter ad Vincula, the parish church of the Tower of London, which had been largely destroyed by fire in 1512.

In the story of that opera, while serving as Lieutenant of the Tower, Cholmeley finds that a prominent prisoner, scheduled to be executed, has escaped.

At the time of his death, he held extensive estates in Northumberland, Cumberland, Yorkshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Middlesex, Kent and Calais, along with several properties in London.

By his will dated 26 December 1521, he left the bulk of his estate to his widow Elizabeth (nee Pennington), with bequests to his only issue, his illegitimate son, named Roger.

His illegitimate son, Roger Cholmeley, enrolled at Lincoln's Inn to study law in 1506, eventually becoming Recorder of the City of London (from 1535 to 1545), a member of parliament and Chief Baron of the Exchequer (from 1545).

Also in 1552, he was imprisoned for six weeks in the Tower of London and fined for signing Lady Jane Grey's instrument of succession as Queen.

This is the line of the current 7th Baronet, Sir Frederick Sebastian Cholmeley of Easton Hall, Grantham, Lincolnshire.

[14] In Victorian times, Sir Richard's tomb in St. Peter ad Vincula was relocated and had a new name panel fitted.