The Greatest Tudor Villain: Sir Richard Rich
Tudors Dynasty & Beyond
RedTop Media / Rebecca Larson
4.4 • 869 Ratings
🗓️ 3 February 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Richard Rich, 1st Baron Rich, rose from relatively modest beginnings to become one of the most powerful - and controversial - figures of the Tudor age. A skilled lawyer and political operator, Rich prospered under Henry VIII and Edward VI, playing a key role in the Dissolution of the Monasteries and benefiting enormously from the redistribution of church lands. He is perhaps best remembered for his involvement in the prosecutions of Sir Thomas More and Anne Boleyn, acts that cemented his dark reputation. In this episode, we explore how Rich navigated the brutal world of Tudor politics - and why his name still provokes debate centuries later.
Sarah's article on Rich: https://thetudortravelguide.com/richard-rich-1st-baron-rich/
Leez Priory: https://thetudortravelguide.com/leez-priory/
Simply Tudor Tours: https://simplytudortours.com/
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Host: Rebecca Larson
Guest: Sarah Morris
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is the Tudors Dynasty and Beyond podcast, history with a twist. And now your host, Rebecca Larson. |
| 0:10.6 | Hello and welcome back to the show. I'm your host, Rebecca Larson. And I'm very excited to welcome |
| 0:16.4 | back to the show for the first time in a really, really long time, Sarah Morris. Welcome back. |
| 0:23.2 | Oh, thank you, Rebecca. It's lovely to be back. It is a while. And so I'm very honored that you |
| 0:27.9 | are inviting me back to talk about one of the greatest villains of Tudor history. Yes, and it's not |
| 0:34.3 | Thomas Seymour. Indeed not. |
| 0:38.3 | No, somebody even more treacherous and villainous than that. |
| 0:42.2 | At least that's the case I'm going to present to the prosecution today. |
| 0:46.7 | Well, that's. |
| 0:47.7 | Before we get started, I do have to say that February marks nine years of the podcast. So as of February 7th, I will have been doing |
| 0:57.9 | the podcast for nine years. And honestly, Sarah, where's the time gone? I can't even, it's absolutely |
| 1:05.7 | unbelievable. And I'm going to be doing like a bunch of book giveaways this month, too. So if you're listening or watching right now, keep an eye on my social media. |
| 1:15.0 | Make sure you follow and subscribe everywhere so you can participate in these fun book |
| 1:19.1 | giveaways. |
| 1:20.4 | Okay, Sarah, today we're talking about, as you said, like one of the most infamous villains in Tudor history, Richard Rich. |
| 1:31.4 | Richard Rich. |
| 1:32.6 | Boo, his. |
| 1:36.0 | He's just one of those people that you'd love to hate, isn't he? |
| 1:40.3 | Oh, well, I first came across him. |
| 1:42.2 | I suspect as many people did in relation to the downfall of Anne Boleyn. |
| 1:46.3 | And I took an instant dislike to the man. And then for my blog, a couple of years ago, I, as you know, Rebecca, I loved telling the stories of Tudor history through the places that people lived. So I came across a |
| 2:01.9 | couple of his properties, notably Lee's Priory in Essex, which we might come back to. And I just |
... |
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