Bennet Sherard, 2nd Baron Sherard
DL (''baptised'' 30 November 1621 – 15 January 1700) was a British politician and Irish peer. An influential landowner in
Leicestershire and
Rutland, he was returned to Parliament by the former county from 1679 through 1695, although his Parliamentary activity was minimal. He entered Parliament as a supporter of the
Exclusion Bill
The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Sco ...
, and was one of the Whigs purged from county offices in 1688 over James' policy of religious tolerance. He supported James' overthrow in the
Glorious Revolution, and was appointed
Lord Lieutenant and
Custos Rotulorum
''Custos rotulorum'' (; plural: ''custodes rotulorum''; Latin for "keeper of the rolls", ) is a civic post that is recognised in the United Kingdom (except Scotland) and in Jamaica.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
The ''custos rotulorum'' is t ...
of Rutland, offices he held until his death in 1700.
Early life and family
Baptised on 30 November 1621, Sherard was the eldest son of
William Sherard, 1st Baron Sherard
William Sherard, 1st Baron Sherard of Leitrim (1 August 1588 – 16 April 1640) was an English official who was created Baron Sherard in the peerage of Ireland by King Charles I in 1627.
Early life
Sherard was born on 1 August 1588 in Stapleford, ...
, and his wife Abigail Cave. He was educated at
St John's College, Oxford in 1639, succeeded his father in his (Irish) barony in 1640, and took a
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tut ...
in Italy from 1641 to 1644, where he was enrolled at the
University of Padua
The University of Padua ( it, Università degli Studi di Padova, UNIPD) is an Italian university located in the city of Padua, region of Veneto, northern Italy. The University of Padua was founded in 1222 by a group of students and teachers from ...
in 1642. While he never took the oaths, he did occupy local office during the
Interregnum, serving as a commissioner for assessment in Rutland and as
justice of the peace for
Leicestershire in 1656. Appointed a commissioner for militia in Leicestershire in March 1660, he continued in local office after the restoration, being appointed to the
Rutland bench in July and a commissioner of assessment for both counties in August, serving on the latter until 1680.
Political career
Sherard continued to hold a variety of local offices after the Restoration. He was a commissioner of
oyer and terminer
In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French ''oyer et terminer'', which literally means "to hear and to determine") was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the ...
for the Midland circuit in 1662, and was appointed a
deputy lieutenant of Leicestershire in 1667. He received additional appointments in
Lincolnshire
Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...
in 1670, as deputy lieutenant and justice of the piece for the
Parts of Lindsey
The Parts of Lindsey are a traditional division of Lincolnshire, England, covering the northern part of the county. The Isle of Axholme, which is on the west side of the River Trent, has normally formed part of it. The district's name origina ...
, although he had resigned both of these posts by 1680. He became a deputy lieutenant of Rutland in 1671, and served as a commissioner for
recusant
Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation.
The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...
s in Leicestershire in 1675.
He first stood for Parliament as a candidate for
Leicestershire in the
March 1679 English general election
The March 1679 English general election resulted in the Habeas Corpus Parliament, named after the Habeas Corpus Act, which it enacted in May, 1679 to define and strengthen the ancient prerogative writ benefitting all subjects. It was dissolved ...
, alongside
Lord Roos, one of the incumbent MPs. Roos was a lukewarm court supporter, while Sherard's sympathies were unclear. The joint candidacy had met with the approval of a Leicestershire gentry meeting, which would normally have settled the matter. However, the controversy over the
Exclusion Bill
The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Sco ...
led
Sir John Hartopp, 3rd Baronet
Sir John Hartopp, 3rd Baronet (1637?–1722) was an English politician, a nonconformist and early Whig.
Life
Born about 1637, he was the only son of Sir Edward Hartopp, 2nd Baronet, of Freeby, Leicestershire, by Mary, daughter of Sir John C ...
, a zealous Whig, to stand for the county as well. During the polling at
Market Harborough
Market Harborough is a market town in the Harborough district of Leicestershire, England, in the far southeast of the county, forming part of the border with Northamptonshire.
Market Harborough's population was 25,143 in 2020. It is the adm ...
, rioting broke out; Roos and Sherard were returned by a large margin, but Hartopp lodged an
election petition
An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election.
Outcomes
When a petition is lodged against an election return, there are 4 possible outcomes:
# The election is declared void. The result is q ...
against the result, alleging malpractice by the Sheriff. Sherard's election was admitted, but that of Roos voided; he was granted a peerage and moved to the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
, while Hartopp was returned at the ensuing April by-election. Sherard would continuously represent the county through 1695. He did prove to be a Whig as well, voting in favor of Exclusion.
He showed his greatest Parliamentary activity in 1680, serving on committees considering bills pertaining to trade and election abuses. No activity for hm is known during the
Oxford Parliament in 1681, and in 1685 was involved with a naturalization bill and economic proposals. In general, he played little role in Parliament, but obviously enjoyed the respect of his fellow gentry in Leicestershire. He was noted as an influential member of the opposition to
James II in 1687.
During that year, a personal quarrel broke out between Sherard and
John Noel at a race meeting, in which Sherard resorted to violence and proposed a duel. The turmoil raised by the event among the Leicestershire gentry was such that the
Earl of Sunderland
Earl of Sunderland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Emanuel Scrope, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The earldom became extinct on his death in 1630 while the barony becam ...
instructed the
Earl of Huntingdon
Earl of Huntingdon is a title which has been created several times in the Peerage of England. The medieval title (1065 creation) was associated with the ruling house of Scotland ( David of Scotland).
The seventh and most recent creation dates t ...
, the
Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire
This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1703, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Leicestershire.
Lord Lieutenants
*Henry Grey, 3rd Marquess of Dorset 1549–1551
*Francis Hastings ...
to compose it.
Noel's uncle
Charles Bertie, reflecting on the prospects of a duel, sourly dismissed Sherard as "an old passionate coxcomb who is lame, crazy and aged",
but the difference must have been smoothed up effectively, as Noel would marry Sherard's daughter Elizabeth in 1696.
In early 1688, Sherard was dismissed from the bench and deputy lieutenancy in Leicestershire by Huntingdon, for his negative answers to the "Three Questions". He was likewise dismissed from the deputy lieutenancy of Rutland by the Lord Lieutenant there, the
Earl of Peterborough
Earl of Peterborough was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for John Mordaunt, 5th Baron Mordaunt (see Baron Mordaunt for earlier history of the family). He was succeeded by his eldest son, Henry, the second Earl. He was ...
.
Sherard's deputy lieutenancy was returned in October as James hastily reversed course with the
Glorious Revolution looming, but Sherard unsurprisingly proved a supporter of
William of Orange and turned out the Leicestershire militia on his behalf. Returned to the
Convention Parliament, he was moderately active, showing, as an Irish peer, an interest in protecting the Irish protestants and gentry. He was again made a JP for Leicestershire, and served as a commissioner of assessment for Leicestershire, Lincolnshire and Rutland until 1690.
Later life
Given his age, it was thought he would stand down at the
1690 election, but was again returned. He showed almost no activity in Parliament, however. When it appeared that the
Earl of Rutland
Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...
(the former Lord Roos) would give up the
lord-lieutenancy of Leicestershire in the summer of 1690, Sherard wrote to the
Marquess of Carmarthen offering to take up the post and raise a new regiment of volunteers. In the event, Rutland retained the post, but Sherard was appointed
Lord Lieutenant of Rutland The ancient position of Lord-Lieutenant of Rutland was abolished on 31 March 1974.
Between 1 April 1974 and its reestablishment on 8 April 1997 Rutland came under the Lord Lieutenant of Leicestershire. Since 1690, all lord-lieutenants have also b ...
in August, filling the place left vacant by the dismissal of the Jacobite Peterborough, and
Custos Rotulorum of Rutland.
Sherard at last left Parliament in 1695.
Personal life
On 8 March 1661, he married Elizabeth Christopher (d. 1713), by whom he had two sons and four daughters (of whom one son and two daughters survived him), including:
* Hon. Christopher Sherard (1666–1681/2), who died of a fever while at Oxford.
*
Bennet Sherard, 1st Earl of Harborough
Bennet Sherard, 1st Earl of Harborough (9 October 1677 – 16 October 1732) (created Viscount Sherard in 1718, and Earl of Harborough in 1719) was a British peer and Member of Parliament.
Early life
Born on 9 October 1677, he was the second, bu ...
(1677–1732), who married Mary Calverley, the daughter and co-heiress of Sir Henry Calverley of Eryholme.
* Hon. Elizabeth Sherard (1679–1746/7), who married first
Edward Ingram, 2nd Viscount of Irvine
Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...
and second
John Noel.
* Hon.
Lucy Sherard (–1751), who married
John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland
John Manners, 2nd Duke of Rutland KG (18 September 1676 – 22 February 1721), styled Lord Roos from 1679 to 1703 and Marquess of Granby from 1703 to 1711, was a British Whig politician sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1 ...
.
Sherard shared his mother's taste for art,
and was a patron of various minor composers and painters.
He died on 15 January 1700 and was buried at
Stapleford, Leicestershire
Stapleford is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Freeby, in the Melton district of Leicestershire, England, east of Melton Mowbray
Melton Mowbray () is a town in Leicestershire, England, north-east of Leicester, and s ...
.
He was succeeded by his only surviving son,
Bennet Sherard, later created
Earl of Harborough
The Earldom of Harborough was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1719 for Bennet Sherard, who had previously been made Baron Harborough (1714) and Viscount Sherard, with the viscountcy ending with the death of its original hol ...
.
References
External links
Bennet Sherard, 2nd Baron Sherardat the
British Museum
The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sherard, Bennet, 2nd Baron Sherard
1621 births
1700 deaths
Bennet Sherard, 2nd Baron Sherard
Alumni of St John's College, Oxford
Deputy Lieutenants of Leicestershire
Deputy Lieutenants of Lincolnshire
Deputy Lieutenants of Rutland
Lord-Lieutenants of Rutland
English MPs 1679
English MPs 1680–1681
English MPs 1685–1687
English MPs 1689–1690
English MPs 1690–1695