Edward Rudge (22 October 1703 – 6 June 1763), of

Evesham Abbey Evesham Abbey was founded by Saint Egwin at Evesham in Worcestershire, England between 700 and 710 following an alleged vision of the Virgin Mary by a swineherd by the name of Eof. According to the monastic history, Evesham came through the No ...

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

, was an English 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 1728 and 1761.

Early life

Rudge was the only son of

John Rudge John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, MP of Mark Lane, London and Evesham Abbey, Worcestershire, and his wife Susanna Letten, daughter of John Letten of London. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1726. He married Elizabeth Howard, the daughter and coheiress of Matthew Howard of Hackney, Middlesex on 8 April 1729.

Career

Rudge was returned unopposed 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 ...

(MP) for

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, South East England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery, David Tugwell`s house on Watermead and the Waterside Theatre. It is in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wy ...

on the interest of his brother-in-law, Sir William Stanhope, at a by-election on 21 February 1728. He generally voted against the Government and did not stand at the 1734 general election. His father died in 1740 and he succeeded to his estate at Evesham. He was also returned unopposed as MP for

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. It lies within the Vale of Evesha ...

, which was formerly his father's seat, at the

1741 general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

. He was returned unopposed again at the 1747 general election. In September 1753 Rudge was described as ‘one who though he had not much attended Parliament always voted with Government’. At the

1754 general election Events January–March * January 28 – Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word ''serendipity''. * February 22 – Expecting an attack by Portuguese-speaking militias in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Pla ...

the Administration put up a candidate to oppose him. Rudge was defeated, although he was said to have spent ‘the greatest profusion of money’ in the contest. He was returned as MP for Evesham in a contest at a by-election on 23 April 1756. He did not stand at the

1761 general election The 1761 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Sco ...

. Rudge died without issue on 23 April 1756.

References

1703 births 1763 deaths Politicians from Worcestershire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Fellows of the Royal Society {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub