Sir Richard Grenville
| Sir Richard Grenville | |
|---|---|
Contemporary portrait of Sir Richard Grenville, inscribed: An(no) D(omi)ni 1571 aetatis uae 29 ("In the year of Our Lord 1571, of his age 29"). National Portrait Gallery, London.
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| Born |
15 June 1542 Bideford, Devon, England |
| Died | 10 September 1591 (aged 49) off Flores, Azores Islands |
| Allegiance |
 Kingdom of England
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| Service/branch |
 Royal Navy
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| Rank | Admiral |
| Commands held | Revenge |
| Battles/wars |
Second Desmond Rebellion Anglo–Spanish War (1585) Battle of Gravelines Battle of Flores (1591) |
| Spouse(s) | Mary St Leger |
| Relations | Son Bernard Grenville |
Sir Richard Grenville (15 June 1542 – 10 September 1591) (alias Greynvile, Greeneville, Greenfield etc.) lord of the manors of Stowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall and of Bideford in Devon, was an English sailor who, as captain of the Revenge, died at the Battle of Flores (1591), fighting against overwhelming odds, and refusing to surrender his ship to the far more numerous Spanish. His ship, the Revenge, met 53 Spanish war ships near Flores in the Azores. He and his crew fought the fifty three in a three-day running battle. Many Spanish ships were sunk or so badly damaged that they had to retire from the battle. The Revenge was boarded three times and each time the boarders were seen off.
Grenville was also a soldier, an armed merchant fleet owner, privateer, colonizer, and explorer. He took part in the early English attempts to settle the New World, and also participated in the fight against the Spanish Armada. His non-military offices included Member of Parliament for Cornwall, High Sheriff of County Cork from 1569–70 and Sheriff of Cornwall in 1576–77. He was the grandfather of Sir Bevil Grenville (1596-1643) of English Civil War fame, whose son was John Granville, 1st Earl of Bath (1628–1701).
Richard Grenville was the eldest son and heir of Sir Roger Grenville (d.1545), who was captain of the Mary Rose when it sank in Portsmouth Harbour in 1545, by his wife Thomasine Cole, daughter of Thomas Cole of Slade. Thomasine remarried to Thomas Arundell. The ancient Grenville family were lords of the manors of Bideford in Devon and of Stowe, Kilkhampton in Cornwall. He was a cousin of Sir Walter Raleigh and the privateer and explorer Humphrey Gilbert.
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