Richard Leveson

Brigadier-General Richard Leveson, 12 July 1659 to March 1699, was the son of a wealthy merchant from Wolverhampton, who served in the army of James II until the November 1688 Glorious Revolution, when he defected to join William III. He fought in Ireland and Flanders, sat as MP for Lichfield and Newport, and was Governor of Berwick-upon-Tweed from 1691 until his death in March 1699. Personal details Richard Leveson was born on 12 July 1659, eldest of three sons of Sarah (d. 1707) and Robert Leveson (d. 1709), a wealthy merchant from Wolverhampton in Staffordshire. He does not appear to have married, although his will left money to two illegitimate sons, with the balance going to his two brothers. His relatives included Sir Richard Leveson (1598-1661) of Trentham Hall, another Royalist, as well as the Leveson-Gower family. Career During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, his Catholic grandfather Thomas held Dudley Castle for Charles I from 1643 to 1646; one of 25 former Royalists named by Parliament in 1651 as subject to "perpetual banishment and confiscation", he died in exile on 8 September 1652. Despite the losses caused by the Civil Wars, in 1660 Robert Leveson's annual income was still around £700, a comfortable income for the period, while he was closely involved in Staffordshire politics, for example, helping the Government implement the 1661 Corporation Act in the boroughs.