Richard de Beresford

Richard de Beresford or Bereford (died after 1318) was an English-born cleric who held high political office in Ireland in the early fourteenth century as Lord High Treasurer of Ireland and Lord Chancellor of Ireland.

Early career

Elrington Ball^[1] states that he was a cousin of William Bereford, the English Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, although this has been questioned. The Bereford family came from Barford in Warwickshire. Richard is first head of in 1283, when he was collecting taxes in Worcestershire; in 1284 he was in the service of the Bishop of Salisbury. In 1291 he became vicar of St. Mary, Shenley in Buckinghamshire and held the living for many years, although he complained of serious damage to and theft of his property in 1295.

Career in Ireland

He first came to Ireland in 1300 as Treasurer of Ireland, and held that office until 1308. His conduct came in for some criticism: shortly after his departure from Ireland Ralph de Monthermer, 1st Baron Monthermer complained in the Justiciar's Court that Richard had unlawfully seized money and goods to the value of four hundred pounds which should have come to Ralph on the death of his wife Joan of Acre, daughter of King Edward I.^[2] The Justiciar ordered repayment to Ralph in full, which suggests that Bereford's conduct was questionable at least.

In 1305 Geoffrey de Morton, lately Lord Mayor of Dublin, brought a series of lawsuits against Beresford. Beresford filed a counter-claim accusing Morton of corruption and was apparently successful in his action: Morton in later years did become notorious for corruption.

Beresford was Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1314 to August 1317.^[3]

He died after 1318, when he was still serving as vicar of Shenley.

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