St Andrew, Bloxworth- memorial (7) (geograph 3169595)

Sir John Trenchard (30 March 1649 – 27 April 1695) was an English politician and landowner.

Life

He belonged to an old

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

family. He was born on 30 March 1649 at

Lytchett Matravers Lytchett Matravers is a village and civil parish in Dorset, England. The 2011 census recorded the parish as having 1,439 households and a population of 3,424. History The name comes from the Brittonic ''litchet'' meaning "grey wood" and the ...

, near Poole, to Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton (1615–1671), and his wife Hannah née Henley (d. 1691). His grandfather was Sir Thomas Trenchard of Wolverton (1582–1657), who was knighted by

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...

in 1613. He was educated at Winchester (1661-1665) and at New College, Oxford (1665-1667). In 1667, he entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn ...

and was called to the bar in 1674. John Trenchard entered parliament as member for

Taunton Taunton () is the county town of Somerset, England, with a 2011 population of 69,570. Its thousand-year history includes a 10th-century monastic foundation, Taunton Castle, which later became a priory. The Normans built a castle owned by the ...

in 1679. He associated himself with those who proposed to exclude the Duke of York from the throne, and attended some of the meetings held by these malcontents. It is possible he was concerned in the

Rye House Plot The Rye House Plot of 1683 was a plan to assassinate King Charles II of England and his brother (and heir to the throne) James, Duke of York. The royal party went from Westminster to Newmarket to see horse races and were expected to make the ...

. In fact, he was arrested at all of the events in July 1683, but no definite evidence was brought against him so he was released. When Monmouth landed in the west of

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in June 1685, Trenchard fled from England to Groningen, Netherlands.IGI: Baptism of Maria Trenchard to John and Philippa on 18 March 1687 at Nederlands Hervormde Kerk, Groningen, Netherlands Around 1687–1688, he was pardoned through the good offices of

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

, and able to return home. Again he entered parliament, but he took no active part in the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...

of 1688, although he managed to secure the good will of William III. On 29 October 1689, he was knighted by the king, and made Chief Justice of Chester. In 1692, he was appointed Secretary of State. He and the government incurred much ridicule through their failure to prove the existence of a great Jacobite plot in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

and Cheshire in which they had been led to believe.

Family

On 10 November 1682, he married: Philippa Speke (1664–1743), daughter of

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

and

Mary Speke Mary Speke (née Pye) (c. 1625 – 1697) was an English nonconformist patron and political activist. She lived in Somerset in a non-conformist family. She was credited with changing her husband's political opinions and the Bishop of Bath and Wel ...

of White Lackington,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, with four sons and three daughters including: # George Trenchard (d. 1758) # Maria Trenchard (1687-) # William Trenchard (12 October 1694-) Sir John died on 27 April 1695 at Kensington, London, of tuberculosis and he is buried at Bloxworth, Dorset.

Notes

References

*, which gives his year of birth incorrectly as 1640. * Attribution: * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Trenchard, John 1649 births 1695 deaths Knights Bachelor Alumni of New College, Oxford People from Purbeck District Secretaries of State for the Northern Department Secretaries of State for the Southern Department Recipients of English royal pardons Members of the Green Ribbon Club People of the Rye House Plot English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 Members of the Middle Temple

Life

Family

See also

Notes

References