Robert Cecil (1670 – 23 February 1716), of St. Anne's, Westminster and King's Walden, Hertfordshire, was an English Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 ...

between 1701 and 1710, Arms of the House of Cecil

Cecil was baptized on 6 November 1670, the second son of

James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury James Cecil, 3rd Earl of Salisbury, (1648 – June 1683), known as Viscount Cranborne from 1660 to 1668, was an English nobleman and politician. Biography Salisbury was the son of Charles Cecil, Viscount Cranborne, the son of William Cecil ...

and his wife Lady Margaret Manners, daughter of

John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland John Manners, 8th Earl of Rutland (10 June 160429 September 1679), was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons from 1640 until 1641 when he inherited the title Earl of Rutland on the death of his seco ...

. He married by licence dated 28 July 1690, Elizabeth Hale, for whom he had once fought a duel and been wounded. She was the widow of William Hale of King's Walden, Hertfordshire, and daughter and heir of Isaac Meynell of Meynell Langley, Derbyshire. Cecil stood unsuccessfully for

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

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 ...

on the Whig interest. He became a commissioner for taking subscriptions to land bank in 1696 and tried again for Hertfordshire unsuccessfully in 1697. 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

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating C ...

by the Howard family at a by-election on 30 April 1701 but did not stand at the subsequent second general election of 1701. He was appointed a commissioner for trade and plantations in 1702 at a salary of £1,000 p.a. He lost his place at the commission of trade in April 1707. 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 was returned as MP for Wootton Basset on the interest of Henry St John. He was identified as a Whig, voting for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He did not stand 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. ...

. Cecil was known as fat Cecil and was reported in 1704 as having been 30 stone. He suffered continually from ill-health and died on 23 February 1716. He left his estates to his widow Elizabeth, by whom he had three sons and two daughters including

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, who became

Bishop of Bangor The Bishop of Bangor is the ordinary of the Church in Wales Diocese of Bangor. The see is based in the city of Bangor where the bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Cathedral Church of Saint Deiniol. The ''Report of the Commissioners appointed ...

, and Margaret, who married Sir Robert Brown Bt.cracroftspeerage.co.uk
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References

1670 births 1716 deaths English MPs 1701 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Younger sons of earls British MPs 1708–1710

Robert 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'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

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