George Whichcot ( bapt. 8 June 1653 - 5 September 1720) was a British politician, MP 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. ...

for Lincolnshire from 1698 to 1700 and from 1705 to 1710.

Biography

George Whichcot was born in

Fotherby Fotherby is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is situated just east from the A16 road, east from Market Rasen, and south from Cleethorpes. In the ''Domesday Book, ...

, Lincolnshire to Sir William Whichcot and Margaret Clifton. He was baptised on 8 June 1653. George Whichcot married Frances Whichcot (née Boynton) in 1698. That same year he became a MP of the

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised t ...

for

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

(3rd. Parliament of

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

, 1698 to 1700). His views from this time remain rather uncertain. In 1707

Sidney Godolphin Sidney Godolphin is the name of: * Sidney Godolphin (colonel) (1652–1732), Member of Parliament for fifty years * Sidney Godolphin (poet) (1610–1643), English poet * Sidney Godolphin, 1st Earl of Godolphin (c. 1640–1712), leading British poli ...

indicated that Whichcot "did take part in the last war", as Whichcot was a captain under

George Saunderson, 5th Viscount Castleton George Saunderson, 5th Viscount Castleton (12 October 1631 – 27 May 1714) was an English soldier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1660 to 1698. Saunderson was born in Fillingham, Lincolnshire, the son of Sir Nicholas Saunde ...

from 1690 to 1692. Whichcot was referred to as '

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

' in his later years. Again elected in 1705, Whichcot, who was now a Whig, kept his place until 1710. At the time of the General elections of 1710, he was against two

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

candidates, and with his campaign suffering from a shortage of money, he ended up losing. Whichcot didn't stand as a candidate in the later elections. He was granted an annual pension of £400 in 1718. Whichcot died on 5 September 1720 in Lincolnshire and was buried on September 9.

References

1653 births 1720 deaths English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 {{17thC-England-MP-stub