| Administrative History | Richard Harpur (c1500-c1573) is believed to have been a son of a Harpur family associated with Chester, and he married Jane, daughter of George Findern, of Findern. He was a Justice of Common Pleas. In the 1550s Richard Harpur purchased estates at Swarkestone and built Swarkestone Hall. The parish church at Swarkestone contains effigies of Richard and Jane Harpur. Probate of Richard Harpur's will was granted in 1576, and that of his widow Jane in 1597 by the Prerogative Court of Canterbury. The documents are held at the National Archives; a photocopy of Richard Harpur's will is at D4898/1/9. |