Richard Bulkeley, 4th Viscount Bulkeley (19 September 1682 – 4 June 1724), of Baron Hill, Anglesey, was a Welsh Tory 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. ...

between 1704 and 1724. He was extremely hot-tempered and was involved in several personal and family disputes with local Whig leaders.

Early life

Bulkeley was the eldest son of

Richard Bulkeley, 3rd Viscount Bulkeley Richard Bulkeley, 3rd Viscount Bulkeley ( – 9 August 1704) was a Welsh politician and peer. Bulkeley was the eldest son of Robert Bulkeley, 2nd Viscount Bulkeley and Sarah, daughter of Daniel Harvey of London and sister of Sir Daniel Harvey. ...

and his wife Mary Egerton, daughter of Sir Philip Egerton of Oulton, Cheshire. He was admitted at

Christ's College, Cambridge Christ's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college includes the Master, the Fellows of the College, and about 450 undergraduate and 170 graduate students. The college was founded by William Byngham in 1437 as ...

in 1698 and was awarded MA in 1700. He married Bridget Bertie, daughter of

James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon James Bertie, 1st Earl of Abingdon (16 June 1653 – 22 May 1699), styled Hon. James Bertie until 1657 and known as the 5th Baron Norreys from 1657 until 1682, was an English nobleman. Early life and relations Bertie was the eldest son of Montag ...

, in 1703 He succeeded as

Viscount Bulkeley Viscount Bulkeley, of Cashel in the County of Tipperary, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 19 January 1644 for Thomas Bulkeley, the son of Sir Richard Bulkeley of Beaumaris and a supporter of King Charles I of England. The ...

on his father's death in 1704.

Career

Bulkeley held office as Constable of

Beaumaris Castle Beaumaris Castle ( ; cy, Castell Biwmares ), in Beaumaris, Anglesey, Wales, was built as part of Edward I's campaign to conquer north Wales after 1282. Plans were probably first made to construct the castle in 1284, but this was delayed d ...

from 1702 to 1716. He was returned 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 ...

for

Anglesey Anglesey (; cy, (Ynys) Môn ) is an island off the north-west coast of Wales. It forms a principal area known as the Isle of Anglesey, that includes Holy Island across the narrow Cymyran Strait and some islets and skerries. Anglesey island ...

, following his father's death at a by-election on 30 November 1704 and was returned at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

. He voted against the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. In 1706 he was appointed

Custos Rotulorum of Anglesey This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Anglesey. * Thomas Holte bef. 1544–1546 * Lewis Ab Owen ap Meurig ?–1558 * Sir Richard Bulkeley 1558–1572 * Sir Richard Bulkeley bef. 1577 – bef. 1584 * Robe ...

and held the post until 1715. He was known for arrogance and violent tempers, and by 1708 he and his family were involved in various disputes with the local Whig leaders. A leading Whig, Owen Hughes, had the lease of a ferry under Bulkeley's control and on renewal in 1706, Bulkeley, with the support of the Treasury, awarded it to rival operators. Hughes retaliated by complaining that Bulkeley neglected the maintenance of Beaumaris Castle, for which he received a mild reprimand from the Treasury. Bulkeley had a further quarrel with Serjeant John Hooke, a long-standing enemy, concerning the council, which Bulkeley controlled. There was a contest for Anglesey at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

but Bulkeley defeated his Whig opponent Owen Meyrick. The bitter conflict between Bulkeley and the Whigs continued through the Parliament. Bulkeley was an inactive member but did vote against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

Bulkeley was returned unopposed as MP for Anglesey. Under the Harley administration, he was listed as one of the ‘worthy patriots’ who exposed the mismanagements of the previous ministry, and as one of the ‘Tory patriots’ who opposed the continuance of the war. He was also a member of the

October Club The October Club was a group of Tory Members of Parliament, established after the 1710 general election. The Club was active until approximately 1714. The group took its name from the strong ale they reportedly drank.Pat Rogers, �October Club (' ...

. He voted for the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713, and was subsequently rewarded with the office of constable of Caernarvon Castle. By this time he was suspected of being a Jacobite and various of his papers in around 1713 and 1714 attested to Jacobite sympathies. He was returned again as MP for Anglesey at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

, but lost his seat at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

. He lost all his public offices within two years of the Hanoverian succession. Bulkeley was in receipt of Jacobite correspondence at the time of the 1715 rebellion and subsequently, his servants were informed against for drinking the Pretender's health. In 1721, he and his friend Watkin Williams-Wynn burnt pictures of the King and his family. With the assistance of Williams-Wynn, he was returned again as MP for Anglesey at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

Later life and legacy

Bulkeley died at Bath, on 4 June 1724. He and his wife had eight children: *

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

(1707–1738), who succeeded as fifth viscount, married Jane, daughter of Lewis Owen of Peniarth, Merionethshire, without issue *

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

(1717–1752), who succeeded as sixth viscount, married Emma, daughter of Thomas Rowlands of Caerau, Anglesey, and Nant, Caernarfonshire, with issue *Bridget, died unmarried *Eleanor, married George Harvey of Teddington, Oxford *Anne, married William Bertie, brother of Willoughby, 3rd Earl of Abingdon and grandson of James, 1st Earl of Abingdon *Elizabeth, married William Price of Bulace *Lumley *Sarah

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bulkeley, Richard Bulkeley, 4th Viscount 1682 births 1724 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland

Alumni of Christ's College, Cambridge English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for constituencies in Wales Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1722–1727 People from Beaumaris