Francis Herne (c1702–1776), 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 1754 and 1776. Herne was the son of Francis Herne of Arminghall Norfolk and his wife Franck Flatman, daughter of

Thomas Flatman Thomas Flatman (21 February 1635 – 8 December 1688) was an English poet and miniature painter. There were several editions of his ''Poems and Songs'' (1674). One of his self-portraits is in the Victoria and Albert Museum. A portrait of Char ...

. The Triptych of Saint Catherine and the Philosophers attributed to Goossen van der Weyden National Gallery Technical Bulletin Volume 24, 2003
/ref> His father was a London merchant in the Spanish trade and he was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

from 1714 to 1720 and was admitted at

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

on 10 October 1720. In 1751, he succeeded to the

Luton Hoo Luton Hoo is an English country house and Estate (land), estate near Luton in Bedfordshire and Harpenden in Hertfordshire. Most of the estate lies within the civil parish of Hyde, Bedfordshire. The Old English language, Saxon word wikt:hoo#Etym ...

estates of a kinswoman Miss Frances Napier. He was

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire. Pre-Conquest pre-1042: Aelfstan 1042-1066; Godric, Ralph Talgebose Bondi the staller 1066–1125 *1066-c.1084: Ansculf de Picquigny * Ralph Taillebois *c. 1080 Hugh de Beauchamp *1124 Rich ...

for 1753–4. Herne was returned as

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

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst ...

1754 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 ...

on a compromise with the Duke of Bedford and with the support of the corporation, and was re-elected in

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, and restore the Mughal Empire to Shah Alam II. * January 16 – Siege of Pondi ...

. In 1763 he sold Luton Hoo to Lord Bute, and did not stand for Bedford in 1768. He was returned as MP for

Camelford Camelford ( kw, Reskammel) is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately ten miles (16 km) north of Bodmin and is governed by ...

in the 1774 general election. Herne died on 26 September 1776.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herne, Francis 1776 deaths British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1774–1780 People educated at Harrow School Alumni of Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies