Barne Barne (25 August 1754 – 19 June 1828) was a British land-owner and a

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 of ...

for the

Pocket Borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

Dunwich Dunwich is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon period, Dunwich was t ...

, in

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, between 1777 and 1791. Barne's father had established himself as co-proprietor of the Borough and controlled one seat; on his father's death in 1777, Barne's eldest brother declined to fill the vacancy and so Barne accepted the offer, hoping to obtain, by voting with the administration, a paid office. He was eventually offered a post, as a Commissioner of Taxes, and, on accepting it, resigned his seat in 1791.

Early life and legal career

Barne was born on 25 August 1754, the second son of Miles Barne of

Sotterley Sotterley, originally ''Southern-lea'' from its situation south of the river, Suckling, A.I., (1846). 'Sotterley', in ''The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk'', 2 vols (W.S. Cowell, Ipswich 1846), Ipp. 81–96(British History Onli ...

, a Member of Parliament for Dunwich, and his second wife, Mary Thornhill, daughter of George Thornhill of

Diddington Diddington is a small village and civil parish in Cambridgeshire, England. Diddington lies approximately south-west of Huntingdon, near to Buckden. Diddington is situated within Huntingdonshire which is a non-metropolitan district of Cambridge ...

, Huntingdonshire. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

in 1768 and then admitted at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, in 1772, matriculating that year and becoming a scholar in 1773. He received an LL.B. in 1780 and was a fellow of Trinity Hall from 1781 to 1814. Prior to his education, he was admitted at the

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 Wal ...

in 1770 and then called to the Bar later, in 1779. A Bencher in 1811 and Reader 1820, he was the Treasurer from 1820 to 1821.

Member of Parliament

Dunwich was a Parliamentary constituency in Suffolk, which had largely fallen into the sea and had a dwindling population by the late eighteenth century; it was home to roughly 40 voters. Thus, the two seats belonging to the Borough were essentially controlled by local land-lords; by 1764, it was in the hands of the Barne and Vanneck families, who were co-proprietors of the parish. Barne Barne, having begun his training as a barrister, was therefore returned for Dunwich "on the family interest" in 1777, when his father resigned, due to his declining health and advanced age, and his eldest brother, Miles Barne declined the seat. As a Member, Barne tended to vote with the administration, hoping to secure himself a commission of some kind; he is not known to have spoken in debate. In 1788, he petitioned Pitt for this, and supported him silently in the hope of a reward. Having been returned again in 1790, Barne was offered the position of a Commissioner of Taxes in 1791 and resigned from the House.

Later life

He appears to have developed a reputation for aggressively working in his family's favour in Dunwich, in his attempt to further their interest there. He offered his resignation from the Tax office in 1818 and it was accepted in 1820. He died, unmarried, on 19 June 1828.Stokes (1986a)
''The Gentleman's Magazine''
(1828, pt. i), p. 648

References

Citations

Bibliography

* Burke, J. (1837)
''A Genealogical and Heraldic Dictionary of the Landed Gentry''
volume I. * Drummond, M. (1964)
"Barne, Barne (1754-1828), of Sotterley Hall, Suff."
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790'', ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke * Stokes, W. (1986a)
"Barne, Barne (1754-1828), of Sotterley Hall, Suff."
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820'', ed. R. Thorne * Stokes, W. (1986b)
Dunwich
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820'', ed. R. Thorne * Venn, J. and Venn, J.A. (1940)
''Alumni Cantabrigienses''
volume II, part I. {{DEFAULTSORT:Barne, Barne 1754 births 1828 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Barne family People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity Hall, Cambridge Members of the Inner Temple People from Waveney District