Richard de Lucy

Richard de Lucy came from Lucé, near Domfront, Normandy, and probably entered the English royal service under King Henry I (r. 1110-1135). In 1143 he became county justiciar and sheriff of Essex. In 1155 Henry II (r. 1154-1189) made him and Robert de Beaumont, 2nd Earl of Leicester, chief justiciars. De Lucy concentrated on administration and Robert on politics.

For his services to the king de Lucy was rewarded with a growing landed fortune. After the death of Robert de Beaumont in 1168, de Lucy held the office of justiciar alone, and his power and influence grew further. In 1173–74, while Henry was fighting the rebels in Normandy, Anjou, and the north of England, Lucy helped greatly to maintain Henry’s rule throughout the rest of the king’s domains and was rewarded for that with more land and power.

De Lucy retired in 1179 and entered Lesnes Abbey which he had founded in Kent. At the time of his death de Lucy was worth around £3,000 or over £3.3bn in 2010’s money.