Richard Philipps, 1st Baron Milford (1744 – 28 November 1823), known as Sir Richard Philipps, Bt, from 1764 to 1776, was a Welsh landowner and Tory politician.

Background and education

Philipps was the son of Sir John Philipps, 6th Baronet, of Picton Castle

Sir John Philipps, 6th Baronet

Sir John Philipps, 6th Baronet PC was a Welsh Jacobite politician.Sir John was the son of Sir John Philipps, 4th Baronet. He studied at Pembroke College, Oxford, and went on to Lincoln's Inn. In 1725, he married Elizabeth Shepherd. In 1736 he was mayor of Haverfordwest, and in 1741 he became MP...

, and was educated at Pembroke College, Oxford

Pembroke College, Oxford

Pembroke College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, located in Pembroke Square. As of 2009, Pembroke had an estimated financial endowment of £44.9 million.-History:...

. He succeeded in the baronetcy in 1764.

Political career

Philipps was returned to parliament for Pembrokeshire

Pembrokeshire (UK Parliament constituency)

Pembrokeshire was a parliamentary constituency based on the county of Pembrokeshire in Wales. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :...

  in 1765 (succeeding his deceased father), and held the seat at the 1768 general election

British general election, 1768

The British general election, 1768 returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.-Summary of the Constituencies:...

. However, in 1770 his election was declared void. In 1774 he was returned for Plympton Erle

Plympton Erle (UK Parliament constituency)

Plympton Erle, also spelt Plympton Earle, was a parliamentary borough in Devon. It elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1295 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-1295-1640:-1640-1832:...

 in Devon

Devon

Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

, a seat he held until 1779. In 1776 he was raised to the Peerage of Ireland

Peerage of Ireland

The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...

 as Baron Milford. As this was an Irish peerage he was able to remain in the House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

. He was out of parliament until 1784, when he was returned for Haverfordwest

Haverfordwest (UK Parliament constituency)

Haverfordwest was a parliamentary constituency. It returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.- History :...

. In 1786 he was once again elected for Pembrokeshire, and continued to represent the constituency until 1812. He was also Lord-Lieutenant of Haverfordwest from 1770 to 1823 and Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire

Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire

This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Pembrokeshire. After 1715, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Pembrokeshire. The county corporate of Haverfordwest was included in this lieutenancy, except for the period from 1761 to 1931, when there was a separate Lord...

 from 1786 to 1823.

Personal life

Lord Milford married Elizabeth, daughter of James Philipps, of Pentypark, in 1764. They had no children. He died in November 1823. The barony died with him while he was succeeded in the baronetcy by a distant relative (see Viscount St Davids

Viscount St Davids

Viscount St Davids, of Lydstep Haven in the County of Pembroke, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1918 for John Philipps, 1st Baron St Davids. The Philipps family descends from Sir John Philipps, who represented Pembrokeshire in the House of Commons...

). He devised his estates, including the family seat of Picton Castle

Picton Castle

Picton Castle is a medieval castle near Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales. Originally built at the end of the 13th century by Sir John Wogan and is still inhabited by his descendants, the Philipps family ....

, to his cousin Richard Grant

Richard Philipps, 1st Baron Milford (second creation)

Richard Bulkeley Philipps Philipps, 1st Baron Milford , known as Richard Grant until 1823 and as Sir Richard Philipps, Bt, from 1828 to 1847, was a British politician and landowner.-Background:...

, who assumed the surname of Philipps. He was the son of John Grant and Mary Philippa Artemisia, daughter of James Child and Mary Philippa Artemisia, daughter of Bulkeley Philipps, uncle of Lord Milford. He was created a Baronet in 1828 and made Baron Milford in 1847.