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Richard's mother had been born as Ann Pett; the Chapman family however included several Mariners whose origins appear to be in the County of Devon, and the Shipwrights who lived at Greenwich, and who had worked at this craft since the reign of the king Edward Ist. (1239-1307).
At the time of Queen Elizabeth I Richard Chapman is described as the owner of a private shipyard at Deptford, and had the title of the 'Queen's Master Shipwright', and had been involved in the construction of river defences along the Thames with Pett and Baker.
Richard's son Edmund Chapman had also become 'Chief Joiner' to the Queen and owned significant property in Greenwich. Edmund provided the lands for the building of the almshouses named the 'Queen Elizabeth College', which was founded in 1574, and himself lived at 'Swanne House'.