Maurice Berkeley, 3rd Viscount Fitzhardinge (1628 – 13 June 1690), known as Sir Maurice Berkeley, Bt from 1660 to 1668, was an English politician, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family.

Early life

Maurice was the eldest son of Sir Charles Berkeley and his wife Elizabeth Killigrew, and was baptized on 15 June 1628. His father was the head of the branch of the Berkeley family founded by Maurice Berkeley, which was seated at

Bruton, Somerset Bruton ( ) is a small market town, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, north-west of Gillingham ...

. Unlike his relatives, he took no part in the

English Civil War The English Civil War or Great Rebellion was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Cavaliers, Royalists and Roundhead, Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of th ...

. On 1 January 1649, he married Anne Lee, the daughter of Sir Henry Lee, 1st Baronet, by whom he had two daughters. He also had two natural sons by Mary Rutley. Anne was the stepdaughter of

Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick 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'' () "fame, glory, honour, praise, reno ...

, the Parliamentary Lord High Admiral.

Career

Berkeley held local office under the Protectorate: he was a commissioner of assessment for Somerset in 1657, and was again appointed to the commission in January 1660. In March he was appointed to the militia commission and the commission of the peace for Somerset. Appointed a captain of militia horse in April 1660, he obtained a pass to travel overseas and brought to the court of Charles II the news of Monck's declaration in favour of restoration. He was rewarded with a

baronet 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 ...

cy on 2 July 1660, and was appointed to the household the

Duke of Gloucester Duke of Gloucester ( ) is a British royal title (after Gloucester), often conferred on one of the sons of the reigning monarch. The first four creations were in the Peerage of England and the last in the Peerage of the United Kingdom; the curre ...

in May; however, Gloucester died of smallpox in September and his appointment lapsed. In June, he was appointed an extraordinary

gentleman of the privy chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

to the King. Berkeley also briefly enjoyed two revenue posts as treasurer and receiver of the

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

garrison from December 1660 to 1661, and joint agent for wine licenses from 1661 to 1662. Locally, he was appointed to the commission for

oyer and terminer In English law, oyer and terminer (; a partial translation of the Anglo-French , which literally means 'to hear and to determine') was one of the commissions by which a judge of assize sat. Apart from its Law French name, the commission was also ...

on the Western circuit in July and for sewers in Somerset in December. In the 1661 election, he was returned as a Member of Parliament for Wells. He was moderately active in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...

, serving on 72 committees, but was much abroad in Ireland. There he served as vice-president of

Connaught Connacht or Connaught ( ; or ), is the smallest of the four provinces of Ireland, situated in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms ( Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine ...

from 1662 to 1666: his uncle,

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – 26 August 1678) of Berkeley House in Westminster and of Twickenham Park in Middlesex, was an English royalist soldier, politician and diplomat, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley f ...

, was

Lord President of Connaught The Lord President of Connaught was a military leader with wide-ranging powers, reaching into the civil sphere, in the English government of Connacht, Connaught in Ireland, in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The office was created in 1569 ...

, although Maurice was more closely attached in politics to the

Duke of Ormonde The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

. Berkeley was also appointed to the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1663 and sat in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

from 1665 to 1666. He was a commissioner of excise accounts in that country from 1666 to 1667. In England, he was appointed to the commission on loyal and indigent officers in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in 1662 and was made a deputy lieutenant of Somerset. From 1673 to 1679, he was a commissioner of assessment for Wells, and from 1667 to some time before 1679, was a colonel of militia foot in Somerset. In 1667, Berkeley was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

. He was appointed

Custos Rotulorum of Somerset This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Somerset. * Sir William Portman bef. 1554–1557 * Sir Hugh Paulet bef. 1558–1573 * Sir Amias Paulet bef. 1577–1588 * Sir John Popham bef. 1594–1607 * Sir E ...

in 1675. In 1668, he became a gentleman of the privy chamber in ordinary, and held the office until the death of Charles II in 1685. He was captain of an independent troop of cavalry in 1667 and in 1685, and of a troop of Irish Life Guards from 1676 to 1685. He succeeded his father as Viscount Fitzhardinge, an Irish peerage originally created for his younger brother, in 1668. In the spring 1679 election, Berkeley was defeated in

Somerset Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...

; he was again defeated in the October election while standing for

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

. He was removed from the Somerset commission of assessment in 1680. He was returned for Bath in the 1681 election and continued to represent it until his death. Made a freeman of Bath in 1679, he was chosen high steward of the town in 1685. He was removed as a deputy lieutenant of Somerset in 1687, from the Somerset commission of the peace in February 1688, and as high steward of Bath in August 1688. In October 1688 he was re-appointed a JP in Somerset and to the high stewardship. After the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

, he declined to vote on the transfer of the throne to William and Mary. He was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Somerset This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Somerset. Since 1714, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Somerset. Lord Lieutenants of Somerset *John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford 1552–1555 * Will ...

in 1689 and returned to the commission for assessment of the county; in 1690, he was also appointed to the commission for assessment for Bath. He died on 13 June 1690 and was succeeded by his younger brother John in his Irish peerage, while his English baronetcy became extinct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzhardinge, Maurice Berkeley, 3rd Viscount 1628 births 1690 deaths Politicians from Somerset People from Westminster Maurice Deputy lieutenants of Somerset Fellows of the Royal Society Lord-lieutenants of Somerset English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons