Edward Knubley (aft. 1749 – 22 April 1815) was a British

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 ...

, one of " Lord Lonsdale's ninepins". A client of Sir James Lowther, 5th Baronet (later Earl of Lonsdale), he was twice returned as member for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

through Lonsdale's influence, only to have his election overturned on

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to some offici ...

each time. He held local office and rank in northwestern England through Lonsdale's influence. Knubley was born after 1749, the son of Edward Knubley of

Fingland Fingland is a hamlet in the Allerdale district, in the county of Cumbria, England. Fingland is located on the B5307 road in between the villages of Kirkbride and Kirkbampton. In 1870-72 the township had a population of 219. There is a farm call ...

Rigg,

Bowness-on-Solway Bowness-on-Solway is a village in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. It is situated to the west of Carlisle on the southern side of the Solway Firth estuary separating England and Scotland. The civil parish had a population of 1,126 at ...

, and his wife Ann Stoddart, of

Wigton Wigton is a market town in the Allerdale borough of Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies just outside the Lake District in the borough of Allerdale. Wigton is at the centre of the Solway Plain, between the Caldbeck Fells ...

. Before 1784, Knubley married Margaret Carr, by whom he had a son and a daughter. He was commissioned a captain in the Westmorland Militia in 1780 by Lowther, then the

Lord Lieutenant of Westmorland This is a list of people who have served as Lord-Lieutenant of Westmorland. The office was abolished on 31 March 1974 and replaced by the Lord Lieutenant of Cumbria. From 1751 to 1974, all Lord Lieutenants were also Custos Rotulorum of Westmorland. ...

. Lowther (Lord Lonsdale after 1784) arranged to have him pricked

High Sheriff of Cumberland The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or ...

in 1785. This made him

returning officer In various parliamentary systems, a returning officer is responsible for overseeing elections in one or more constituencies. Australia In Australia a returning officer is an employee of the Australian Electoral Commission or a state electoral c ...

for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, a position of advantage to support Lowther's electioneering. Lonsdale had gained control of the corporation of

in 1784, and arranged for the creation of 1,400 mostly non-resident freemen of the city, largely selected from among his tenantry and outnumbering the existing freemen two-to-one. His opportunity to test his electoral strength there came in 1786, when the

Earl of Surrey Earl of Surrey is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created five times. It was first created for William de Warenne, 1st Earl of Surrey, William de Warenne, a close Companions of William the Conqueror, companion of William the Con ...

, sitting member and leader of the opposition to Lonsdale there, succeeded as

Duke of Norfolk Duke of Norfolk is a title in the peerage of England. The seat of the Duke of Norfolk is Arundel Castle in Sussex, although the title refers to the county of Norfolk. The current duke is Edward Fitzalan-Howard, 18th Duke of Norfolk. The dukes ...

and vacated his seat. Lonsdale put forth Knubley as a candidate for

at the ensuing by-election of 29 November 1786. Knubley outpolled his rival Rowland Stephenson 554 to 405, but the election was overturned on petition on 26 February 1787 and Stephenson was seated. Lonsdale continued his struggle to dominate Carlisle, obtaining the appointment of

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 (New Style, N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the Englis ...

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there in 1788 and scoring a legal victory in 1789 that allowed the sons of freemen to be made freemen without membership in a guild. The

1790 British general election The 1790 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 17th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Political situation ...

there was riotous, marked by mob violence that led to the destruction of Lonsdale's townhouse. Knubley and

James Clarke Satterthwaite James Clarke Satterthwaite (1746–1825) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Satterthwaite was a placeman for James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale James Lowther, 1st Earl of Lo ...

, the Lonsdale candidates, were returned with 503 votes each, over the incumbent

John Christian Curwen John Christian Curwen, born John Christian (12 July 1756 – 11 December 1828) was an English Member of Parliament and High Sheriff. Early life He was born on 12 July 1756. He was the eldest surviving son of John Christian of Ewanrigg, Cumberl ...

and fellow independent

Wilson Braddyll Wilson Gale-Braddyll (baptised 24 February 1756 – 19 November 1818) was a British Member of Parliament. He was born Wilson Gale, the eldest son of John Gale of Highhead Castle, Cumberland by Sarah, daughter of Christopher Wilson of Bardsea ...

with 399 and 394. Curwen, Braddyll, and some of the freemen bore the expense of an election petition against the result. The result was a determination, on 3 March 1791, that the franchise in Carlisle was limited to freemen admitted to the city's guilds, and free either as sons of freemen or having served out an apprenticeship to a freeman. This disenfranchised the honorary freemen created at Lonsdale's direction, and Knubley and Satterthwaite were unseated in favor of their rivals. By this time, Knubley had married his second wife, Sarah Borradaile, by whom he had three sons and a daughter. A further challenge by Lonsdale to overturn the decision on the Carlisle franchise was defeated in 1795. During the

1796 British general election The 1796 British general election returned members to serve in the 18th and last House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain. They were summoned before the Union of Great Britain and Ireland on 1 January 1801. The members in office in Gr ...

, Lonsdale, with ministerial support, put up Knubley and James Graham, with the support of the Pitt ministry, against Curwen and Sir Frederick Fletcher-Vane. After a strenuously-contested fifteen-day poll, Curwen and Fletcher-Vane emerged the victors, and a petition against them by Knubley and Graham was rejected. Lonsdale did not again offer Knubley as a candidate for Parliament. At the time of the 1790 general election, Knubley expressed his opinion of Lonsdale to Boswell: "a most tyrannical temper and not a spark of gratitude." Nonetheless, he remained Lonsdale's creature and worked to support him in Cumberland. His efforts for the family were rewarded by Lonsdale's cousin and heir,

Viscount Lowther A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

(later Earl of Lonsdale). He was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in the Westmorland Militia in 1803. In 1808, Knubley was rewarded with the post of collector of customs at

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is th ...

, the seat of Lowther power, and in the same year, Lonsdale commissioned him major of the Whitehaven volunteer artillery. He died on 22 April 1815.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knubley, Edward Year of birth unknown British Militia officers High Sheriffs of Cumberland 1815 deaths Tory MPs (pre-1834) Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Carlisle British MPs 1784–1790 1749 births