Francis Willoughby, 2nd Baron Middleton (4 October 1692 – 31 July 1758), was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1713 to 1727. He succeeded to a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

y in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself r ...

He was born the eldest son of Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton, and Elizabeth, the daughter and coheiress of Sir Richard Rothwell, 1st Bt. He was the brother of Hon. Thomas Willoughby, MP. He was educated at Eton and at Jesus College, Cambridge, graduating MA in 1712. He was returned as Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire at the general elections of

1713 Events January–March * January 17 – Tuscarora War: Colonel James Moore leads the Carolina militia out of Albemarle County, North Carolina, in a second offensive against the Tuscarora. Heavy snows force the troops to take ref ...

and

1715 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 ...

. At the 1722 general election he was returned as MP for Tamworth until 1727. He succeeded to the barony on his father's death in 1729, and inherited estates at Wollaton Hall, Nottinghamshire (where he lived), and at Middleton Hall, Middleton, Warwickshire. He was High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield from 1729. He married Mary Edwards in 1723 by whom he had two sons, who succeeded in turn to the barony, and a daughter: * Francis Willoughby, 3rd Baron Middleton (1726–1774) * Thomas Willoughby, 4th Baron Middleton (1728–1781) *daughter, name unknown

References

1692 births 1758 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Willoughby, Francis British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 Francis 2 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub