Andrew Archer (2 August 1659 – 31 December 1741), of

Umberslade Hall Umberslade Hall is a 17th-century mansion converted into residential apartments situated in Nuthurst near Tanworth-in-Arden, Warwickshire. It is a Grade II* listed building. The Archer family were granted the manor of Umberslade by Henry II ...

, Tanworth in Arden,

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Av ...

was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

in three periods between 1690 and 1722.

Early life

Archer was baptized on 2 August 1659, the eldest son of

Thomas Archer Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque archit ...

of Umberslade, Warwickshire and his wife Anne Leigh, daughter of Richard Leigh of London. His father had been a parliamentary commander during the Civil War. He matriculated at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

on 3 May 1678, aged 18; and was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1680. Upon his father's death in 1685 he inherited Umberslade. He married Elizabeth Dashwood, daughter of

Sir Samuel Dashwood Sir Samuel Dashwood JP ( – 12 August 1705) was an English merchant and Tory politician. He was Lord Mayor of London in 1702. Early life The son of Francis Dashwood, a London merchant, by his wife Alice Sleigh, he was a brother of Sir Francis ...

by licence of 15 June 1693. His wife was connected to Fulke Greville, 5th Lord Brooke, a leading Warwickshire Tory. and the marriage brought him into contact with the world of finance.

Career

Archer was returned in a contest as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

at the

1690 English general election The 1690 English general election occurred after the dissolution of the Convention Parliament summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, and saw the partisan feuds in that parliament continue in the constituencies. The Tories made signi ...

but was relatively inactive. He became a Commissioner for rebuilding Warwick in 1695 and was returned in a contest again at the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ...

. At first he refused to subscribe the Association. He voted against fixing the price of guineas in March 1696, and voted against the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

of Sir John Fenwick on 25 November 1696. In 1697, he introduced and managed a bill to empower magistrates to order that highways be widened. He did not stand at the 1698 English general election and spent the next few years to 1700 rebuilding Umberslade. In 1700 he became deputy lieutenant. He maintained his interest in political affairs in London and Warwickshire, but did not stand for Parliament again until asked to fill the gap at a by-election for Warwickshire on 28 November 1705. He was returned unopposed as a Tory and was active in Parliament. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

, he was returned unopposed as Tory MP for Warwickshire. He was a teller for the Tories on several occasions and saw through a bill for a new church at Birmingham. He was active in the matter of Dr Sacheverell and voted against the impeachment proceedings in 1710. He decided not to stand at the 1710 British general election, but in 1711 was appointed Commissioner in the inquiry into forces and garrisons in Spain, Portugal and Italy. He spent two years in constant travel and uncovered many fraudulent practices in Spain. However he felt his efforts were unappreciated and was disappointed to receive no reward. At the 1713 British general election he was invited to stand by the Warwickshire gentry and was returned unopposed as Tory MP for Warwickshire again. He was teller for the Tories a few times but was noted as voting with the Whigs on occasion. Archer was returned again at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

, and supported the opposition until he stood down at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Th ...

Later life and legacy

Archer became increasingly indebted, having borrowed to purchase another manor in 1716. He appeared to have devoted his efforts to building a library. He died on 31 December 1741 at Umberslade. His children were: *Diana Archer, who married Thomas Chaplin *

Thomas Archer, 1st Baron Archer Thomas Archer, 1st Baron Archer (21 July 1695 – 19 October 1768) was an English Member of Parliament, who was created Baron Archer in 1747. His arms are blazoned: ''Azure three arrows or.''thepeerage.com
/ref> *

Henry Archer Henry Archer (1799 – 2 March 1863) was the son of an Irish landowner and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar and spent most of his time between North Wales and London. Ffestiniog Railway In railway circ ...

(1700–1768), married Elizabeth Montagu, sister of

George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax (also spelt George Montague) (9 May 1739), of Horton, Northamptonshire, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1715 when he became a peer. Early life Montagu was the son of Ed ...

*Anne Archer *Elizabeth Archer *Sarah Archer Archer's sons Thomas and Henry were both returned to Parliament in 1735.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Archer, Andrew 1659 births 1741 deaths English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from Tanworth-in-Arden 17th-century English landowners 18th-century English landowners