richard ratcliffe

Sir Richard Ratcliffe (died 1485) was a close confidant of Richard III of England. He came from a gentry family in the Lake District, and became a companion of Richard when the latter was still Duke of Gloucester. When Richard became king he gave Ratcliffe a number of offices, including Sheriff of Westmorland, and made him a Knight of the Garter. He also received a large grant of land, including much that had belonged to the Courtenay Earls of Devon. After the rebellion of 1483 he was given a very large number of forfeited estates. As a result he had an income larger than most Barons. He married Agnes Scrope, daughter of Henry Scrope, 4th Baron Scrope of Bolton, one of the great barons in the north of England. (She was also the half-sister of the wife of William Catesby). He died at the Battle of Bosworth Field. Ratcliffe, Richard Ratcliffe, Richard

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