Nicholas Lechmere, 1st Baron Lechmere (5 August 167518 June 1727) was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

from 1708 until 1721 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Be ...

as Baron Lechmere. He served as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...

Life

Lechmere was the second son of Edmund Lechmere of Hanley Castle, Worcestershire, and the younger brother of Anthony Lechmere, MP. He was admitted at

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 I ...

in 1693 and called to the bar on 25 October 1698. In 1708, he became

King's counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister or ...

. He made a profitable career as a lawyer, where he followed the profession of his grandfather Sir Nicholas Lechmere. Lechmere was elected in a contest 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 o ...

for Appleby at the 1708 general election. He transferred to

Cockermouth Cockermouth is a market town and civil parish in the Borough of Allerdale in Cumbria, England, so named because it is at the confluence of the River Cocker as it flows into the River Derwent. The mid-2010 census estimates state that Cocke ...

at the 1710 general election and was returned MP in contests then and in

1713 Events January–March * January 17 – Tuscarora War: Colonel James Moore leads the Carolina militia out of Albemarle County, North Carolina, in a second offensive against the Tuscarora. Heavy snows force the troops to take ref ...

. He was one of the authors who drafted legislation concerning Scotland in January 1710. He opposed the Tory ministry's peace policy after 1710 and supported

Dissenters A dissenter (from the Latin ''dissentire'', "to disagree") is one who dissents (disagrees) in matters of opinion, belief, etc. Usage in Christianity Dissent from the Anglican church In the social and religious history of England and Wales, an ...

’ rights. During Queen Anne's reign he was known as a spokesman of the Whigs. In 1714 Lechmere was appointed Solicitor-General and made a Reader of his Inn. In 1715 he became Treasurer of the Inn. Lechmere was returned unopposed as MP for Cockermouth at the

1715 general election Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

. He replaced his brother as MP for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Ri ...

at a by-election on 12 June 1717. In 1718, he was appointed

and also became a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises senior politicians who are current or former members of ei ...

and

. On 4 September 1721, having ceased to be attorney-general, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Lechmere of Evesham in the County of Worcester and vacated his seat in the House of Commons. Lechmere was also a collaborator with

Richard Steele Sir Richard Steele (bap. 12 March 1672 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician, remembered as co-founder, with his friend Joseph Addison, of the magazine ''The Spectator''. Early life Steele was born in D ...

on his pamphlet ''The Crisis''. Lechmere died from a sudden attack of apoplexy, while seated at table, at Campden House,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, on 18 June 1727, and was buried at Hanley Castle, where there is a tablet inscribed to his memory.

Family

Elizabeth Howard (1701-1739), by George Knapton

Lechmere married Lady Elizabeth Howard, daughter of

Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle Charles Howard, 3rd Earl of Carlisle, PC (c. 1669 – 1 May 1738) was a British nobleman, peer, and statesman. Charles Howard was the eldest son of Edward Howard, 2nd Earl of Carlisle, and inherited his title on the death of his father in 169 ...

in 1719, but they had no children and his title became extinct on his death in 1727.

References

External links

* ''Burke's Extinct Peerage'' (London: Henry Colburn & Richard Bentley, 1831) * D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, eds. The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715 ''LECHMERE, Nicholas (1675-1727), of the Middle Temple'' 2002 Boydell and Brewer {{DEFAULTSORT:Lechmere, Nicholas, 1st Baron Lechmere 1675 births 1727 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Chancellors of the Duchy of Lancaster Solicitors General for England and Wales Attorneys General for England and Wales British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Alumni of Merton College, Oxford