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 Sir Maurice Berkeley (by 1514–1581) of Bruton in Somerset and of Berkeley House, Clerkenwell, Middlesex, served as Chief Banner Bearer of England to Kings Henry VIII and Edward VI and to Queen Elizabeth I, and rose rapidly in the Tudor cou ...

. 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. Unlike his relatives, he took no part in the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. On 1 January 1649, he married Anne Lee, the daughter of

Sir Henry Lee, 1st Baronet There have been four baronetcies created for people with the surname Lee, all extinct. Lee baronets, of Quarendon, Buckinghamshire (1611–1776) This branch of the family owned Ditchley, Ditchley House, current home of the Ditchley Foundation. ...

, 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 Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick (5 June 158719 April 1658), Lord of the Manor of Hunningham,Hunningham, in A History of the County of Warwick: Vol. 6, Knightlow Hundred, ed. L F Salzman (London, 1951), pp. 117–120. was an English colonial ad ...

, the Parliamentary Lord High Admiral. 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 A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

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 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 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 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 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 ...

for

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

. He was moderately active in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

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

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbhn ...

from 1662 to 1666: his uncle,

John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – 26 August 1678) was an English royalist soldier, politician and diplomat, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family. From 1648 he was closely associated with James, Duke of York, and ...

, was Lord President of Connaught, 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 ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...

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 Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

in 1662 and was made a deputy lieutenant of Somerset. From 1673 to 1679, he was a commissioner of assessment for

, 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 judges 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 Ed ...

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 Viscount Fitzhardinge is an extinct title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 14 July 1663 for Charles Berkeley, later Earl of Falmouth, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family, with the subsidiary title of Baron Berkeley of Rath ...

, an Irish peerage originally created for his younger brother, in 1668. In the spring 1679 election, Berkeley was defeated in

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_ ...

; he was again defeated in the October election while standing for Bath. 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; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

, 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 * Wil ...

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 Maurice may refer to: People * Saint Maurice (died 287), Roman legionary and Christian martyr * Maurice (emperor) or Flavius Mauricius Tiberius Augustus (539–602), Byzantine emperor *Maurice (bishop of London) (died 1107), Lord Chancellor and ...

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