University Register, ii. ii. 336, iii. 335). His elder brother dying without heirs in 1625, Richard succeeded his father in the family estates in March 1631. In 1640 he was chosen to represent the county of Warwick in the Long parliament. But the proceedings of that body were little to his taste, and his vehement loyalty drew down on him the displeasure of the parliamentarians. He was interrogated by order of the commons, and on 21 Sept. 1642 the serjeant-at-arms was directed to take him in custody on account of his unsatisfactory answers (Commons' Journals, ii. 775). To avoid imprisonment he withdrew to his Warwickshire estates. On his march to Edgecot Charles I met Shuckburgh hunting on 22 Oct. 1642, and enlisted his support. Shuckburgh was present at Edgehill on the following day and was knighted. He did not, however, accompany Charles in his retreat, but fortified himself on the top of Shuckburgh hill. The place was attacked and stormed after a stout resistance, and Sir Richard, desperately wounded, was carried a prisoner to Kenilworth Castle. For taking arms for the king he was expelled by parliament on 14 Jan. 1644 (ib. iii. 366; Cal. State Papers, Dom. 1649–50, pp. 444–5). His petition to compound for his delinquency, 28 April 1646, met with no response (Cal. Comm. for Compounding, p. 1218). He remained in prison for several years, and obtained his release only by sacrificing many of his estates. The remainder of his life he passed in retirement, interesting himself in history and antiquities. Thomas Fuller dedicated to him the third section of the fifth book of his ‘Church History.’ He died in London on 13 June 1656, and was buried in Shuckburgh mortuary chapel, where his monument may still be seen.
He was thrice married, but only by his third wife had he any children. On 30 Nov. 1627 he married Mary Crompton, a widow, daughter of Ralph Sneyd of Keyle in Stafford, who died on 5 Sept. 1629. He married, on 10 Dec. 1630, his second wife, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Robert Lee of Billeslee in Warwickshire. By Grace, his third wife, daughter of Sir Thomas Holte of Aston, bart., he had six sons—John, who succeeded to the estates and was created a baronet in 1660; Richard, George, Charles, and two who died young. By her he had also four daughters. Sir Richard's third wife survived him and married John Keating [q. v.], chief justice of the common pleas in Ireland. She died in 1677.
[Dugdale's Warwickshire, i. 289, 309; Colvile's Warwickshire Worthies, p. 689; Diary of Richard Symonds (Camden Soc.), p. 191; Foster's Alumni Oxon. 1500–1714; Notes and Queries, 1st ser. i. 338; Misc. Geneal. 2nd ser. iii. 353.]
SHUCKBURGH-EVELYN, Sir GEORGE AUGUSTUS WILLIAM (1751–1804) sixth baronet, mathematician, born on 23 Aug. 1751, was the eldest son of Richard Shuckburgh (1728–1772) of Limerick, by his wife Sarah, daughter of John Hayward of Plumstead, Kent, captain R.N., and widow of Edward Bate. Sir Richard Shuckburgh [q. v.], whose son John was created a baronet on 26 June 1660, was his great-great-grandfather.
George entered Rugby school in 1760, and matriculated from Balliol College, Oxford, on 22 April 1768, graduating B.A. in 1772. On quitting the university he devoted three years to travel in France and Italy, occupying himself with scientific investigations. On the death of his uncle, Sir Charles Shuckburgh, fifth baronet, on 10 Aug. 1773, he succeeded to the baronetcy and family estates at Shuckburgh, Warwickshire. On 27 Sept. 1780 he was returned to parliament for the county of Warwick, and retained his seat until his death (Official Returns of Members of Parliament, ii. 169, 182, 195, 208, 222).
Shuckburgh was elected a fellow of the Royal Society on 22 Dec. 1774, and on 4 Dec. 1777 a fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. In 1777 and 1778 he communicated to the Royal Society the results of investigations made by him and Major-general William Roy (1726–1790) [q. v.] in Savoy concerning the measurement of the height of mountains by the barometer. His treatise was published with the title ‘Observations made in Savoy to ascertain the Height of Mountains by the Barometer,’ London, 1777, 4to. In 1798 Shuckburgh communicated to the Royal Society the result of experiments made with a view to determine the relation between the English yard and some invariable standard. Shuckburgh's results have since been found to be correct within .00745 of an inch. To record his conclusions he employed Troughton to construct for him a brass bar on which the length of five feet was engraved, divided into tenths of an inch. The scale is now in the possession of the Royal Society. He made similar investigations regarding the measures of capacity and weight, details of which were also given in his paper. Most of his experiments were carried out in an observatory which he caused to be constructed for his use at Shuckburgh.
Shuckburgh died at Shuckburgh on
