Christopher Rich (abt. 1647 - 1714)

Born about 1 Jan 1647 in Over Stowey, Somerset, England

Ancestors

Husband of Sarah (Bewley) Rich — married 25 Dec 1684 (to Oct 1694) in Walbrook St Stephen's Church, London, England

Descendants

Died 4 Nov 1714 at about age 67 in London, Middlesex, England

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Biography

Christopher Rich, son of John Rich, clothier, and Susanna Venn (daughter of Simon Venn and Katherine Collamore), was born about 1647 at Over Stowey, Somerset, England. He moved from his birth place in about 1673, where he is first recorded in London.

Christopher was one of eight children. He had an older brother, John (1635-c.1697), five sisters, and a younger brother named Collamore Rich. Going against convention, Collamore, the youngest son, was the sole executor of his father's Last Will and Testament written 28 Nov 1675 and proved 1 Feb 1677, and inherited the lands in Over Stowey. The older brothers, John and Christopher, were named only as two overseers of the Will.^[1]

Christopher Rich was a lawyer, and theatre patentee, manager and developer. As clerk to lawyer Sir Thomas Skipwith, Christopher Rich witnessed the Licence Allegation on 30 April 1673 for Skipwith's second marriage to Elizabeth Madison, widow of St Giles, at Westminster Abbey. At this time Christopher was not a law student, and it was not until three years later, on 6 June 1676, approximately the year his father died, that he was admitted as a student to Gray's Inn.

Another student of the law was John Mosyer (c.1619-1697), son of Stephen Mosyer and Mary Collamore. Mary was Christopher’s great aunt, sister of his grandmother Katherine Collamore. John Mosyer and Christopher Rich were therefore first cousins once removed. Christopher named a son Christopher Mosyer Rich in 1693. John Mosyer died unmarried and without issue in 1697; his clerk Jeremy Mount and his "cozen" Christopher Rich were the beneficiaries of his Will.

Christopher Rich, gentleman, married Sarah Bewley of Eltham, Kent, daughter of John Bewley, merchant, and Sarah Evans. They married at St Stephen’s Walbrook, London on 25 Dec 1684, Sarah’s 22nd birthday.

Sarah and Christopher had seven children in ten years, four of whom, all girls (Sarah, Mary, Elizabeth, Catherine), died at birth. Sarah died in October 1694, a month after Catherine’s birth. She was buried at at St Andrew's, Holborn, London. Christopher Rich was a widower with three children: Susanna (born 1689), John (born 1692), and Christopher Mosyer (born 1693); Susanna died only three years later.

Christopher was buried 7 Nov 1714 at St Andrew's, Holborn.

Sources

1. ↑ Will of John Rich of Over Stowey, Somerset, Reference: PROB 11/353/120, Description: Will of John Rich of Over Stowey, Somerset, Date: 01 February 1677, Held by: The National Archives, Kew, Legal status: Public Record(s), Closure status: Open Document, Open Description

• Sawyer, Paul. Christopher Rich of Drury Lane: The Biography of a Theatre Manager. University Press of America, Inc. Lanham MD, London, England. 1986.
• Christopher rich--from puritan to theatre manager The Free Library. 2012 The Society for Theatre Research 30 Jun. 2021

Acknowledgements

• Researched by Sara V Mosher, 2021