Richard Neville (12 October 1655 – 1 July 1717) of Billingbear, Berkshire, was an English Whig politician, who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

from 1695 to 1710.

Early life

Neville was second but eldest surviving son of Richard Neville (1615–1676) of

Billingbear House Billingbear House was situated in the parish of Waltham St. Lawrence in Berkshire, England, about six miles from Windsor. Originally owned by the Bishop of Winchester, the land was given to Sir Henry Neville (father of politician and diplomat, ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; in the 17th century sometimes spelt phonetically as Barkeshire; abbreviated Berks.) is a historic county in South East England. One of the home counties, Berkshire was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II as the Royal County of Berk ...

, and his wife Anne Heydon, daughter of Sir John Heydon of Baconthorpe, Norfolk. His father had been a gentleman of the privy chamber and colonel of the forces to Charles I. Neville was admitted at the

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 Inn an ...

in 1673 and inherited Billingbear on his father's death in 1678. He married Catharine Grey, daughter of

Ralph Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Werke Ralph Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Werke (27 October 1630 – 15 June 1675) was an English peer. Early life Grey was baptised on 27 October 1630. He was the eldest son of William Grey, 1st Baron Grey of Werke and the former Cecilia Wentworth. The fa ...

Career

Neville was a country Whig and stood for Parliament at

at the

1690 English general election The 1690 English general election occurred after the dissolution of the Convention Parliament summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, and saw the partisan feuds in that parliament continue in the constituencies. The Tories made signi ...

, but was narrowly defeated. At the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ...

, he was returned unopposed 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 Berkshire. He signed the Association and voted for fixing the price of

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from t ...

at 22 shillings in March. He voted for the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

of Sir John Fenwick on 25 November 1696. At the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' sup ...

he was returned unopposed again and voted against the third reading of the disbanding bill on 18 January 1699. He was a follower of his brother-in-law, Lord Tankerville, who was a Treasury lord. At the two general elections of 1701, he was also returned unopposed. He was returned in a contest at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

. 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 was returned again in a contest. In that year he was joined in the House of Commons by his son

Grey Neville Grey Neville (23 September 1681 – 24 April 1723) of Billingbear, Berkshire was an English landowner and politician who sat in the English House of Commons from 1705 to 1708 and in the British House of Commons between 1708 and 1723. Early life ...

. He voted for the Court candidate as Speaker on 25 October 1705, and supported the Court on the 'place clause' of the regency bill on 18 February 1706. He was returned unopposed as a Whig 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 ...

. He spoke in favour of the bill for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He lost his seat at Berkshire 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. ...

Death and legacy

Neville died on 1 July 1717 and left three children:

, Henry Neville, also MP and Catherine, the paternal grandmother of Richard Aldworth Neville, 2nd Baron Braybrooke

References

* ;Attribution 1655 births 1717 deaths People from Waltham St Lawrence Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Berkshire

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 ...

English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of England for Berkshire British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub