| Richard Masters | |
| Office: | President of the Royal College of Physicians |
| Term Start: | 1561 |
| Term End: | 1561 |
| Death Date: | 1588 |
| Alma Mater: | All Souls' CollegeUniversity of Oxford |
Richard Masters (also Master, Mastre or Maistres) was a leading 16th-century English physician and personal doctor of Queen Elizabeth.
Masters was the son of Robert Masters of Streetend in Willesborough, Kent. He became a fellow at All Souls' College in Oxford, eventually graduating with a B.A. in 1533 and an M.A. in 1537.[1]
He was a personal acquaintance of Rudolph Walther and in 1539 accepted a benefice from the Church of England, however, he forfeited it believing he was not a good clergyman.[2]
Masters enrolled at the University of Oxford to study medicine, and by 1545 was an admitted M.B. and granted a licence to practise medicine. In 1553 he became a fellow at the College of Physicians and served as a censor between 1556 and 1558 and in 1560. In 1561 he served as President of the college, and as consiliarius in 1564 and 1583.[1]
In 1559, Master was granted a patent of £100 annually to serve as the personal physician to Queen Elizabeth.
In 1568, Elizabeth granted Master a coat of arms and properties formerly in the possession of the Abbey of Cirencester.[3]
Queen Elizabeth gave Master a silver cup topped with the falcon badge of her mother Anne Boleyn.[4] The cup is known as the "Boleyn cup" and was given to the parish church of Cirencester. It has London hallmarks for 1535.[5]
In 1562, Masters was made Prebendary of York, and in 1565 issued a royal patent for his family and heirs from the Queen receiving the Cirencester Abbey.[1] [6]
Masters married Elizabeth, daughter of John Fulnetby, Esq. and had seven sons, including:
Masters died in 1588.