Charles Leigh (1686–1749) of Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire was a British 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. ...

between 1710 and 1734. Leigh was baptized on 28 March 1686, the third, but second surviving son of Thomas Leigh, 2nd Baron Leigh of

Stoneleigh Abbey Stoneleigh Abbey is an English country house and estate situated south of Coventry. Nearby is the village of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. The Abbey itself is a Grade I listed building. History In 1154 Henry II granted land in the Forest of Arden t ...

, Warwickshire and his second wife Eleanor Watson, daughter of

Edward Watson, 2nd Baron Rockingham {{Infobox noble , name = Edward Watson , title = Baron Rockingham , image = , caption = , alt = , CoA = , more = no , succession = , reig ...

. He 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 Wal ...

in 1701 and matriculated at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

on 18 May 1702, aged 16. In 1704, he succeeded his uncle Hon. Charles Leigh and inherited the Leighton Buzzard estates in Bedfordshire. He married. Lady Barbara Lumley daughter of

Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough (1650 – 17 December 1721), was an English soldier and statesman best known for his role in the Glorious Revolution. Origins Lumley was the son of John Lumley and Mary Compton, and the grandson of Richa ...

in 1716. Leigh's father died in November 1710, and he stood at a by-election at

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

on 13 December 1710 against the Greville interest. He was elected

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 ...

in a contest and was classed as a Tory and named as a ‘worthy patriot’ who helped expose the mismanagements of the previous Whig government. He offended some Tories for abstaining on 24 January 1712 when the House voted on the motion censuring the Duke of Marlborough for his ‘unwarrantable and illegal’ acceptance of money from bread contractors. As a result, he damaged his political standing at Warwick. He also voted 'whimsically' on 18 June 1713 against the French commerce bill. At the 1713 general election, he expected not to be put forward for Warwick, but made no attempt to find another constituency. In the following year his maternal uncle, Hon. Thomas Watson Wentworth, returned him for

Higham Ferrers Higham Ferrers is a market town and civil parish in the Nene Valley in North Northamptonshire, England, close to the Cambridgeshire and Bedfordshire borders. It forms a single built-up area with Rushden to the south and has an estimated populati ...

at a by-election on 12 March 1714 and he was returned again at the

1715 general election Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

. Having been a Tory who might often vote Whig, Leigh became a strong opponent of Walpole's administration and from 1715, voted against the Government in all recorded divisions. At the 1722 general election, he changed his seat to

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

. In 1725, he voted against the restoration of Bolingbroke's estates with four other Tories. He did not stand at the 1727 general election, but was returned for Bedfordshire at a by-election on 16 February 1733. He voted against the Administration on the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Customs officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

in 1733, and the repeal of the Septennial Act, in 1734. He was defeated at the 1734 general election and not stand again. Leigh died without issue on 28 July 1749.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leigh, Charles 1686 births 1749 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734