Edmund Halsey (died 1729), of St. Saviour's, Southwark, Surrey and

Stoke Poges Stoke Poges () is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is centred north-north-east of Slough, its post town, and southeast of Farnham Common. Etymology In the name Stoke Poges, ''stoke'' means " stockaded (p ...

, Buckinghamshire, was a British brewer and Whig 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 1712 and 1729. He enjoyed a rags-to-riches career, from working as a ‘miller’s boy’ at St. Albans to becoming the owner of one of the largest breweries in the London area. Halsey left his home town of St Albans and went to London ‘with 4s.6d. only in his pocket’, and found work at James Child's

Anchor Brewery The Anchor Brewery was a brewery in Park Street, Southwark, London, England. Established in 1616, by the early nineteenth century it was the largest brewery in the world. From 1781 it was operated by Barclay Perkins & Co, who in 1955 merged wit ...

in Southwark. He began by sweeping the yards, but was promoted to become clerk of the brewery's counting-house. He eventually married James Child's only daughter Anne Child on 17 October 1693, and became a partner in the business. By May 1696 he had already garnered enough wealth to loan £1,000 to the crown. When Child died in September 1696, he assumed complete control of the brewery. By that time Halsey may have already become involved in local politics, for the elections committee reported in December 1696 on the testimony of a ‘Mr Halsey’ on a disputed election. He became Freeman of the Brewers’ Company in 1697. Halsey was put forward as a candidate in December 1711 for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

, which had several brewers supporting the Whig cause. He was returned as Whig

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 Southwark at the by-election on 12 January 1712, although he actually finished 16 votes behind his opponent, Sir George Mathews. Mathews petitioned and as the committee reported several irregularities at the poll, the House ruled in favour of Mathews, and Halsey was unseated on 7 February 1712. Halsey became master of the Brewers Company in 1715. He was returned as MP for

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

at a by-election on 30 November 1717 through the influence of his son-in-law, Sir Richard Temple, 4th Baronet. In the House he supported the administration. He was a governor of St Thomas’ Hospital by 1719 and a director of the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

in 1721, holding both positions for the rest of his life. 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. Tha ...

he was returned again in a contest for Southwark. His local interest was probably increased by the growing success of his brewery, and in 1724 he spent £12,000 on the purchase of the manor of Stoke Poges. He was returned unopposed for Southwark at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

. Halsey died in August 1729. Two sons predeceased him and he left an only daughter, Anne, Viscountess Cobham, who inherited the Stoke Poges property. His widow died in 1741. The brewing business was sold for a reported £30,000 to Ralph Thrale of Streatham, his brewery clerk and son of his sister Anne who had married Ralph Thrale of Offley, Hertfordshire. The Anchor brewery served as a platform for Thrale to launch his own and his son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) *Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

’s. political careers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halsey, Edmund 1729 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Masters of the Worshipful Company of Brewers