Henry Fleetwood ('' c.'' 1667 – 22 May 1746) of Penwortham, near Preston, Lancashire, was an English soldier and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1722.

Early life

Fleetwood was the eldest son of Arthur Fleetwood of Lichfield, Staffordshire and St Margaret's, Westminster, and his wife Mary Archbold, daughter of Sir Henry Archbold of Abbots Bromley, Staffordshire, chancellor of Lichfield diocese. His father was secretary to the Earl of Danby. He was a cousin of Sir Christopher Musgrave, 5th Baronet. He matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

on 25 October 1683, aged 16, but in 1685 he joined the

English Army The ...

. He was an Ensign in the

7th Foot The Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in continuous existence for 283 years. It was known as the 7th Regiment of Foot until the Childers Reforms of 1881. The regiment served in many wa ...

, and rose to

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

in 1687, and lieutenant in 1688. In 1704 he inherited estates, including Penwortham Priory, from his cousin Edward Fleetwood MP.

Career

Fleetwood stood unsuccessfully for

Preston Preston is a place name, surname and given name that may refer to: Places England *Preston, Lancashire, an urban settlement **The City of Preston, Lancashire, a borough and non-metropolitan district which contains the settlement **County Boro ...

at a by election on 27 December 1706. He was returned unopposed as Tory Member of Parliament for

at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

. He voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

, he was returned unopposed again as a Tory at Preston with the support of the Duke and Duchess of Hamilton. He was a teller on the Tory side, and was listed as one of the ‘Tory patriots’ who opposed to the war and a ‘worthy patriot’ who detected the mismanagements of the previous administration. He voted for the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. After assiduously canvassing his electorate, he was returned at the head of the poll for Preston in a contest at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

but made little impression in Parliament. Fleetwood married Sarah Sudell, the daughter of Roger Sudell of Preston, Lancashire by a settlement dated 12 February 1714. At the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

, Fleetwood was returned again as Tory MP for Preston. His only known vote was in 1719 against the repeal of the Occasional Conformity and Schism Acts. He did not stand at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

. He was an active member of the mock corporation of Walton-le-Dale for the next twenty years.

Death and legacy

Fleetwood died without issue on 22 May 1746, leaving debts of £16,000. His estates were sold to John Aspinall to pay his debts, after an Act of Parliament in 1748.

References

1667 births 1746 deaths People from Lichfield Politicians from Preston, Lancashire Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 English army officers {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub