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Richard Drake of Esher, a Drake of Ashe and brother of Sir Bernard Drake, was
called "cousin" in the will of Sir Francis Drake. He was
born in 1535. By 1577 he was one of the Equerries of Queen Elizabeth. His wife’s
mother was a lady of the bedchamber to Queen Elizabeth. By 1583 he held the
manor of Esher in Surrey. He also acquired the manor and rectory of
Walton-on-Thames. He was a friend of Sir Francis Drake, and some of his favor
at court may have been in consideration of that connection. In 1590 he was
granted the Stewardship of the Courts and Leets of the manor of Woking.
Following the defeat of the Spanish Armada, he kept certain high ranking Spanish
prisoners at Esher under "house arrest," including Don Pedro de Valdez. In
September 1600 Richard Drake had the honor of entertaining Her Majesty the
Queen, which as one writer on the Drakes noted, was not a casual occurrence!
Click here for an image of his
memorial.