Richard Corbet (died 1566)

[1] From 1544 until the end of Henry's reign in 1547, Corbet was an important functionary in the household of the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VI, occupying the post of Carver.

It has been claimed that he was the Sir Richard Corbet imprisoned for a time in the Tower of London as a suspected supporter of Lady Jane Grey.

Corbet probably was a Protestant sympathiser from an early stage in the English Reformation: certainly he quickly became a trusted member of the key institutions of power in both his regions during the reign of Elizabeth.

Although the Council in Wales and the Marches was a dominant force politically, it seems that knights of the shire were largely elected because of their local standing and family connections.

[10] Corbet's colleague in the parliament of 1558 was Thomas Fermor: although he had connections in Shropshire, he was a wealthy London merchant who later became noted as staunch Catholic.

[12] When he died in 1566, he was succeeded as MP for Shropshire by his great-nephew, Robert Corbet, Sir Andrew's eldest son and heir.

However, his memorial, in the form of an altar tomb for himself and his Margaret, his wife, was installed at St Batholomew's, the parish church of Moreton Corbet, only a few yards north of the castle.

[7] His nephew and former ward, Sir Andrew Corbet inherited his Shropshire property, including the house that had become his at Poynton after his mother's death in 1563, and land at Acton Reynald, near Shawbury.

He appointed his wife as executrix and gave a gilt cup to his brother Reginald, asking him to lend his legal skills to Margaret.

Effigies of Richard Corbet and Margaret Wortley, née Savile, his wife, in St Bartholomew's church, Moreton Corbet
Tomb of Richard's maternal grandparents, Anne Talbot (died 1494) and Henry Vernon (died 1515) in St Bartholomew's church, Tong, Shropshire .
Effigy of Sir Robert Corbet, Richard's father, in St Bartholomew's church, Moreton Corbet
Effigy of Elizabeth Vernon, Richard Corbet's mother, who long outlived her husband, dying in 1563
Arms and emblems on the Corbet/Savile tomb. These include the elephant, only adopted in the time of Sir Andrew, and the raven, referring to the etymology of Corbet, meaning "little crow". [ 8 ]
Tomb of Richard Corbet and his wife, Margaret, in St Bartholomew's Church, Moreton Corbet