Richard Pembridge
Sir Richard PembridgeKG , was one of the earliest appointed Knights of the Garter.
Career
A Herefordshire and Shropshire man, related to the Pembridge family of Tong Castle, he fought at sea at the Battle of Sluys and alongside King Edward III at the Battle of Crécy and at the Battle of Poitiers during the Hundred Years' War. He served the king as Custodian of Southampton Castle in 1361 and then as Constable of Dover Castle and Warden of the Cinque Ports in 1370. He was appointed a Knight of the Garter in 1368. In 1372 he refused to accept the post of Lieutenant of Ireland and as a result was in some disgrace at his death in 1375.Marriage and children
He married Elizabeth le Strange, a daughter of John le Strange, 2nd Baron Strange, of Blackmere, by his wife Ankaret le Boteler, daughter of William Boteler, 1st Baron Boteler, of Wem. Elizabeth was the widow successively of Baron [St John of Basing|Edmund St John, 3rd Baron St John], of Basing, who died at the Siege of Calais in 1347, and of Gerard [de Lisle, 1st Baron Lisle] of Kingston Lisle. By Elizabeth he had one son:- Henry Pembridge, who died at the age of 15 and predeceased his father.
Death and succession
Monument
His monument with recumbent effigy was originally situated in the Black Friars Monastery in Hereford, but following the Dissolution of the Monasteries was moved to its present location in Hereford Cathedral. He is sculpted in life-size in alabaster, fully armed and wearing the Garter on his left leg below the knee. Fisher wrote:His steel helm, one of only four 14th-century knight's helms to survive, is held at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.