Background
Bulkeley was the eldest son of Sir Richard Bulkeley, of Beaumaris and Anglesey by his first wife Margaret née Savage. In 1563, he was elected Member of Parliament for Anglesey, a position he obtained through the influence of his father.
Bulkeley was the eldest son of Sir Richard Bulkeley, of Beaumaris and Anglesey by his first wife Margaret née Savage. In 1563, he was elected Member of Parliament for Anglesey, a position he obtained through the influence of his father.
He was appointed Constable of Beaumaris Castle in 1561 and elected first Mayor of Beaumaris in 1562. He was appointed High Sheriff of Anglesey for 1570. Bulkeley was knighted in Whitehall, London in 1577, and became embroiled in various power struggles in Wales including with the Earl of Leicester and Owen Wood of Rhosmor.
Wood accused him of oppressing the townspeople of Beaumaris, and being involved with the 1586 Babington plot.
Bulkeley was exonerated by the Privy Council on these charges, but was censured in the Star Chamber for molesting Wood. He is known for being a courtier of Queen Elizabeth, and entertained her in Lewisham — see Honor Oak.
She appointed him one of the Council of the Marches of Wales in 1602. In 1604 Bulkeley was elected Member of Parliament for Anglesey again, and was re-elected in 1614.
He was one of the Council of the Marches of Wales again in 1617.
In 1618, he founded the family seat at Baron Hill. Bulkeley married twice: firstly Catherine (who died 1573), the daughter of Sir William Davenport Knight of Brome Hall, Cheshire, and secondly on 18 February 1576 Mary, the daughter of William Borough, Lord Borough of Gainsborough, Lincolnshire. Three successive viscounts carried the forename Richard.
Bulkeley"s younger half-brother was Lancelot Bulkeley, later Archbishop of Dublin.
Addled Parliament.