.S7A' RICHARD WF.SIOX. 67 



SIR RICHARD WKSTOX. 



1 591- 1652. 



It has ever been acknowledged that Sir Richard Weston laid the 

 foundation of the improved agriculture of Britain, and it is remarked 

 in tlir " I'hilosopliical Transactions" that I^ngland profited to the amount 

 of man)- millions by following the recommendations given in his treatise. 

 He was the eldest son of Sir Richard Weston, Kt., of Sutton, Surrey, 

 and although I have not been able to trace the date of his birth, in 161 3 

 he succeeded to his father's, estates in the parishes of Sutton and 

 Clandon, and was knighted at Guildford on July 27th, 1622. Some 

 writers aver that he was ambassador from the (^)urt of James I. to 

 Frederic I., Elector Palatine and King of Bohemia, and that he was 

 present at the famous battle of Prague. Be this as it may, he certainly 

 wrote a treatise entitled " A Discourse of Husbandrie used in Brabant 

 and Flanders," showing the wonderful improvement of law there, and 

 " serving as a pattern for our practice in this Commonwealth." He 

 never carried this valuable work beyond manuscript form, which he left 

 with others as a legacy to his sons, but it came out as a book later, 

 published by Samuel Hartlib, and its contents shall have due examination 

 in our storv of this author's life. 



The improvement of husbandrv was e\identl}- a hobby of his, as he 

 made many notable advances in the methods in vogue during his time. 

 Sir Richard was the first to introduce the system of locks, as in Holland, 

 to make rivers and canals navigable. He obtained powers from Parlia- 

 ment to make the river Wey navigable, the time given him being six 

 months, but both this and the money, estimated at ;{^6ooo, were exceeded, 

 as he died in less than twelve months after the passing of the Act, having 

 completed only ten miles of the fourteen miles necessary. After his 

 death the work was carried on and completed by a Major Pitson and the 

 son of Sir Richard, material and timber being granted from the King's 

 estates of Oatlands and Richmond. 



About the year 1638 he introduced into the count}' in which he resided 

 the cultivation of " the grass called nonsuch " (really a clover now known 

 as trefoil), and, following in the footsteps of Rowland \'aughan, he 

 raised rich crops of hay from irrigated meadows, and in this connection 

 Speed relates that Sir Richard told him in 1639 that he had disposed of 

 150 loads of his extraordinary hay at ^^3, which his meadows watered by 

 his new river did yield. Another great improvement was his introduction 

 of the rotation in cro])s founded on the cultivation ot clover, llax, and 

 turnips. 



He married Grace, daughter of J(jhii llar])er, of Cliesluinl, and 

 had b\- her se\-en sons and two daughters. He died in i()52, and was 



I" 2 



