Richard Taswell
Richardson
Male
England
1852-08-09
Broughton, Hampshire, England
1930-05-16
Capenhurst, Cheshire, England
Richard Taswell Richardson was born on 9 August 1852 in Broughton, Hampshire. He was the second of the seven children – three sons and four daughters – of the Reverend Richard Richardson (1811-85), a clerk in holy orders and justice of the peace, of Capenhurst Hall, Cheshire; and Frances (‘Fanny’) Anne Richardson (née Taswell; circa 1823-76), who was from Canterbury.
Richard T. Richardson studied law at Oxford University and was called to the Bar as a barrister-at-law at the Inner Temple in 1879. He subsequently practised law on the Northern Circuit. He was also a magistrate for Chester Castle Petty Sessional Division and a member of Cheshire County Council for the Chester Castle Division, roles he took very seriously.
Although he only took part in lawn tennis tournaments from 1880 until 1884, Richardson was an excellent player, and notably reached the all-comers’ final of the men’s singles event at Wimbledon twice: in 1881, when William Renshaw beat him, 6-4 6-2 6-3; and in 1882, when Ernest Renshaw, William’s twin, beat him 6-5 6-3 2-6 6-3. Richardson also won the men’s singles title at the prestigious Northern Lawn Tennis Championships three years in a row, from 1880 to 1882.
In June 1882, together with John T. Hartley, winner of the singles title at Wimbledon in 1879 and 1880, Richardson won the title at the Oxford University Men’s Doubles Championship. This prestigious event is now considered the precursor to the men’s doubles event at Wimbledon, which was inaugurated in 1884. In the semi-finals at Oxford in 1882, Richardson and Hartley defeated the Renshaw twins, 6-3 6-5 6-2. In the final they beat the Scottish player John Galbraith Horn and the Londoner Champion B. Russell, 6-2 6-1 6-0.
Richard T. Richardson did not marry and lived in Capenhurst Hall, Capenhurst, Cheshire, for several years. According to Kelly’s Directory of 1896: “Capenhurst Hall, the seat of Richard Taswell Richardson, esq., B.A., Justice of the Peace (J.P.), lord of the manor and chief landowner, is a mansion of red brick close to the station and the church [in Capenhurst].”
Richard T. Richardson died in Capenhurst Hall on 16 May 1930 at the age of 77.
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From The Chester Chronicle, 17 May 1930:
Another loss to the county – Death of Mr Richard T. Richardson – A Full and useful career
Having figured prominently in the public life of Cheshire for nearly forty years, Alderman Richard T. Richardson, of Capenhurst Hall, died at his residence yesterday (Friday) morning. He was in his seventy-eighth year and though he had been in failing health for some months, his last illness was only a short one. He attended church on Sunday week and took his seat on the Bench at Chester Castle Petty Sessions on Thursday week. His death is a sad blow to Cheshire, a county heavily stricken already this week by the death of Major Hugh E. Wilbraham.
Alderman Richard Taswell Richardson was a bachelor and lived at Capenhurst Hall with one of his two sisters. He was the Squire of Capenhurst and is spoken of by his friends as “a good good Cheshire Squire and a good sportsman.” His father, the Reverend Richard Richardson, was the Squire-parson of Capenhurst – an old-time type referred to as the “Squarson”.
Mr Richard T. Richardson was a good Churchman, and all his life had associated himself with Capenhurst Church. He was very regular in his attendance at the services, and each year prominently associated himself with the church fête organised on his estate. He will be greatly missed in the church, and, indeed, by his tenants, of whom he was always most thoughtful, and to whose needs he was always attentive.
In his early years he was devoted to sport, and gained fame in the tennis world. He was for years a member of the Cheshire Hunt, and although having given up active association with the Hunt, continued to interest himself in the sport.
In a wide sphere Mr Richardson did great service for county causes. He was, with perhaps one or two exceptions, the oldest county magistrate, having been appointed along with Mr John Howard, of Broughton Hall, Malpas, on June 29th, 1885. He was a magistrate for Chester Castle Petty Sessional Division, and had been for many years, up to the time of his death, chairman of the justices. A little sidelight on his athletic proclivities was the fact that he used to attend his duties as a magistrate and county councillor at Chester Castle on a bicycle. Of later years he had, of coursse, discarded this mode of travel in favour of a car.
Alderman Richardson was honoured on April 4, 1918, by being appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of Cheshire, he was elected to the County Council in March 1898, and maintained unbroken representatioin for Chester Castle Division until his elevation to the aldermanic bench in succession to the late Mr John Thompson in November 1907. He was most attentive and conscientious in all his County Council work, and his acute legal mind – he was a barrister though he never practised – made him an ideal chairman of committees.
In his early days on the Council he was a keen critic of finance, and was very outspoken in his comments. Later on, however, when he became a member of the Finance Committee, he was able to lead in financial matters. He had been chairman of the Finance Committee for many years. Though never holding the chairmanship of the County Council, he was the vice-chairman, and in that capacity was an ex-officio member of every committee and sub-committee of the county.
He was very regular in his attendance at all committee and council meetings, and although his health had been frail of late, he retained a mental alertness which gained him high respect. He was one of the representatives of the County Council on the Standing Joint Committee, and chairman of what are known as the Chester and Knutsford Courts. Whether as an alderman of the County Council, or as a county magistrate, or as a squire and landlord, Mr Richardson won the admiration of all for the conscientious and diligent manner in which he discharged his duties.
Tennis fame
In 1882 Mr Richardson, partnered by Canon John T. Hartley, of Scarborough, (then Vicar of Burniston, Yorkshire) won the men’s doubles championship at Wimbledon by beating the famous twins Renshaw in the final. Mr Richardson and Canon Hartley did not compete the following year owing to the illness of Canon Hartley. Mr Richardson won the Northern Championship Cup outright – winning three times in succession.
In 1926, at the celebrations of the Wimbledon Jubilee, Mr Richardson was one of the former champions who took part and had the honour of being presented to the King and receiving from his hands the Jubilee Medal.
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A village in mourning
Capenhurst, Friday – From our own reporter
The whole village is in mourning today for Alderman Richardson’s death. The loss of such a model landowner and employer will be keenly felt in the district where he was looked up to by all. Mr Richardson’s kindness was well-known, and there is genuine sorrow among the villagers, most of whom were his tenants.
It was known that for the past seven months he had suffered considerably, but he continued to superintend the affairs of his estate and to discharge his public duties. A little over a fortnight ago, Mr Richardson presided at Chester Castle Petty Sessions, but he was unable to attend last week’s meeting of the County Council During the week his illness took a serious turn, and Dr Scott, of Chester, made a daily call.
Mr Richardson had been connected with Capenhurst Parish Church all his life, and was a churchwarden for 35 years. His loss will be keenly felt here as elsewhere. The Village Institute, which was erected in 1921, owes its existence to him. In his younger days Alderman Richardson was a member of the old Capenhurst Cricket Club, which flourished in the ‘nineties.
His estate of about 1,200 acres composes the whole of the village of Capenhurst and parts of the outskirts, and during his lifetime he made large improvements for the benefit of his tenants. When he took over the management of the estate the water supply and drainage system were not in a very good state and he completelty revolutionised things, arranging with the West Cheshire Water Board to supply water. He also made great improvements in the sanitary arrangements. Quite recently electric light was installed throughout the village.
Mr T. Maddock, Alderman Richardson’s fellow churchwarden for many years, told a Chronicle representative this morning that Alderman Richardson was held in high esteem by the tenants, and his death would be a great blow to them. “He was always ready,” he added, “to help anyone, and he always did it unostentatiously.”
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1880 - 1884
4
43
34
1882 - Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament (Open)
1881 - Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament (Open)
1881 - Liverpool Cricket Club Tournament (Amateur)
1880 - Northern Lawn Tennis Association Tournament (Open)
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Robert Stuart Wilson
6-0
6-2
6-1
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
L.W. Brooke
6-0
6-2
6-0
Round 3
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
James Alexander Rome
6-0
6-1
6-2
Quarterfinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Joseph Bruce Ismay
6-2
6-0
6-3
Semifinals
Donald Charles Stewart 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
2-6
6-3
6-2
6-4
Round 2
Charles Walder Grinstead 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
6-3
5-6
6-5
6-2
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Donald Charles Stewart
6-0
6-2
6-0
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
George Montague Butterworth
6-1
6-5
6-3
Quarterfinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Otway Edward Woodhouse
6-1
6-0
6-2
Semifinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Francis Robert (Frank) Benson
6-1
6-2
6-1
Final
James Ernest (Ernest) Renshaw 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
6-5
6-3
2-6
6-3
Challenge Round
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
James Ernest (Ernest) Renshaw
6-1
3-6
5-7
6-4
11-9
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Reverend Algernon Home Cochran
6-0
6-1
6-2
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Michael Gallwey McNamara
6-2
6-1
6-2
Round 3
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
James Ernest (Ernest) Renshaw
2-6
6-5
6-4
6-5
Quarterfinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
William Henry Darby
6-0
6-4
6-1
Final
William Charles Renshaw 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
6-4
6-2
6-3
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Michael Gallwey McNamara
6-2
6-0
6-0
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Robert Hassard
6-2
6-1
6-0
Quarterfinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Alfred John Mulholland
8-6
6-3
6-3
Semifinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Peter Aungier
6-1
6-3
6-0
Final
Herbert Fortescue Lawford 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
5-7
7-5
3-6
6-4
9-7
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
F.C. MacLean
6-3
6-4
6-0
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Edgar Lubbock
4-6
6-5
6-5
5-6
6-2
Quarterfinals
William Charles Renshaw 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
6-5
6-4
4-6
2-6
6-4
Challenge Round
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
John James Comber
6-1
6-1
6-0
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Charles Stananought
6-1
6-0
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
James Rankine
6-1
6-0
Quarterfinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
T.W. Hunt
6-2
6-0
Semifinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
H. Blane
6-1
6-0
Final
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Reginald Herbert Jones
6-0
6-0
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Sir Alexander Kaye Butterworth
6-5
6-3
6-1
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Kenneth MacAlpine
6-1
6-0
6-3
Round 3
Herbert Fortescue Lawford 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
1-6
6-3
0-6
6-5
6-4
Round 1
William Charles Renshaw 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
5-6
5-6
6-3
6-4
6-3
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Col. Lord William Cecil
6-0
3-6
6-3
6-2
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Arthur Basil Brooke
6-0
6-2
6-1
Round 3
Otway Edward Woodhouse 1 *
Richard Taswell Richardson
6-5
1-6
5-6
6-4
6-3
Round 1
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
O. Leatham
6-2
6-0
6-0
Round 2
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
H. Allen
6-1
6-2
6-0
Quarterfinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
W.L. Agnew
6-2
6-0
3-0
retired
Semifinals
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
John Ravenscroft
6-0
6-0
6-2
Final
Richard Taswell Richardson 1 *
Walter Edwin Fairlie
6-0
6-3
6-0