RICHARD LANCASTER OF RAINHILL

Mary Katherine McDonald was a descendant of Richard Lancaster of Rainhill, Lancashire, England 1571 - 1616 He was her 9th grandfather.

At about the age of thirteen, Richard went off to Eton College in Berkshire to further his education. Within a few years, Richard was off to Cambridge University. 

Richard returned to Lancashire following his graduation with his master’s degree in 1593. 

On November 26, 1593, he married Margaret Doumbell, the daughter of William Doumbell at St. Wilfrid’s Chapel at Farnworth.

In the same year he received his Bachelor of Divinity, Prince Henry, the eldest son of King James I and heir presumptive to the throne, was admitted to Magdalen College at Oxford. He was eleven years old, the same age as Richard’s eldest son Thomas. It is around this time that Richard became “chaplain or “private chaplain” to the young prince.

Prince Henry was very religious and Richard attracted the prince’s attention with his sermons as he was said to have been an “excellent preacher.

 Regrettably, none of his sermons survive.

Around this time, Richard took a position at his old school of Eton. He is identified in its records as a vice-provost, one of the school’s senior administrators.

St. Wilfrid’s Chapel at Farnworth.