Sir Kenrick Clayton, 2nd Baronet ( – 10 March 1769) of

Marden Park Woldingham is a village and civil parish high on the North Downs between Oxted and Warlingham in Surrey, England, within the M25, southeast of London. The village has 2,141 inhabitants, many of whom commute to London, making Woldingham part o ...

, Surrey, was an English politician who sat in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

from 1734 to 1769. Clayton was the eldest surviving son of

Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet (died 1744) of Marden Park, Surrey and later Harleyford, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1744. Clayton was the eldest surviving son of William Clayton of Hambleden, Buckin ...

(died 1744), and his wife Martha Kenrick, the daughter of John Kenrick, a London merchant. He was admitted at

Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Corpus Christi College (full name: "The College of Corpus Christi and the Blessed Virgin Mary", often shortened to "Corpus"), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. From the late 14th century through to the early 19th century ...

on 9 May 1732. He married Henrietta Maria Herring, daughter of Henry Herring, director of Bank of England on 13 February 1736. Clayton's father inherited from his uncle, Sir Robert Clayton, the manor of Bletchingley, and thereby controlled both seats in the

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

Bletchingley Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill, Surrey, Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with Middle Ages, medieval buildings and is mostly on a ...

. Clayton was returned with his father 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 ...

(MP) for Bletchingley on his father's interest at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

, and again at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

. He succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on his father's death in 1744, and inherited his father's controlling interest both in Bletchingley and in the parliamentary borough of

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the Ha ...

. He was returned at the subsequent general elections in

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II Coul ...

and

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 ...

with his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

. In about 1750 Lord Egmont describer the Claytons as 'strange people and not to be depended upon' but observed that their attendance was infrequent and they were irresolute in opposition. In 1753 Clayton applied for a church preferment for his brother-in-law Rev. John Thomas, which was granted the following year after Pelham had pointed out to Newcastle that he had a controlling interest in two parliamentary seats. He was returned for Bletchingly again 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 ...

and in

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...

sat with his son

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

. Clayton died on 10 March 1769 leaving a son and two daughters. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

who died childless. The baronetcy then passed to Clayton's nephew

, son of his brother William.

References

1713 births Year of birth uncertain 1769 deaths Alumni of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 {{GreatBritain-baronet-stub