Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore

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Richard Barry, 7th Earl of Barrymore, (14 August 1769 – 6 March 1793) was an English nobleman of Ireland, as well as an infamous rake, gambler, sportsman, theatrical enthusiast and womanizer. He was known as the Rake of Rakes. [1]

Barry was born on 14 August 1769 in Marylebone, Middlesex, to Richard Barry, 6th Earl of Barrymore and Amelia Stanhope, daughter of William Stanhope, 2nd Earl of Harrington and the Lady Caroline Fitzroy. He succeeded his father as Earl of Barrymore 1 August 1773 when he was only three. His mother placed him under the care of the vicar of Wargrave in Berkshire, where he grew up and later settled. Barry became a well-known sportsman, particularly in running, horse-racing, boxing and swordsmanship. He patronised his own personal bare-knuckle boxer, bred his own race-horses and rode as his own jockey. He was especially famous for placing huge bets on both these sports and other extraodinarily ludicrous challenges. His first love was, however, the theatre, a fine example of which he built and ran in Wargrave. He even acted there himself. He married Charlotte Goulding, the daughter of a sedan chairman on 7 June 1792, but, even before this, he was heavily in debt. He retired to life in the Royal Berkshire Militia, but was accidentally killed on 6 March 1793. His musket discharged while routing French prisoners of war to Dover. He was buried 17 May 1793 in St Mary's Church in Wargrave. Despite fears of bankruptcy, the Earl died in unexpected solvency. Barry had alienated much of his Cork patrimony in 1792, at which time the Buttevant estate passed to Viscount Doneraile and to a Scottish banker, John Anderson.