Robert Shirley, Viscount Tamworth (28 December 1692 – 5 July 1714) of Staunton Harold, Leicestershire, was an English nobleman and politician.
![Tamworth - panoramio (16)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Tamworth_-_panoramio_%2816%29.jpg)
Robert Shirley was the eldest son of Hon.
Robert Shirley
Sir Robert Shirley (or Sherley; c. 1581 – 13 July 1628) was an English traveller and adventurer, younger brother of Sir Anthony Shirley and Sir Thomas Shirley. He is notable for his help modernising and improving the Persian Safavid army ...
(1673–1699) and his wife Anne Ferrers (d. 1698), and was born at
Staunton Harold Hall.
He inherited
Tamworth Castle
Tamworth Castle, a Grade I listed building, is a Norman castle overlooking the mouth of the River Anker into the Tame in the town of Tamworth in Staffordshire, England. Before boundary changes in 1889, however, the castle was within the edge of ...
and other estates in
Staffordshire
Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...
upon his mother's death, and became heir apparent to his grandfather,
Lord Ferrers of Chartley, when his father died the following year. He was styled Viscount Tamworth after 1711, when his grandfather was created
Earl Ferrers
Earl Ferrers is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1711 for Robert Shirley, 1st Earl Ferrers, Robert Shirley, 14th Baron Ferrers of Chartley. The Shirley family descends from George Shirley (died 1622) of Astwell Castle ...
.
When
Sir Geoffrey Palmer
Sir Geoffrey Winston Russell Palmer (born 21 April 1942) is a New Zealand lawyer, legal academic, and former politician, who was a member of Parliament from 1979 to 1990. He served as the 33rd prime minister of New Zealand for a little over a ...
, Member of Parliament for
Leicestershire
Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...
was forced by straitened finances to step down at the
1713 election, Tamworth was put forth by the Tories to replace him. At the time, the Tories held both Leicestershire seats; thorough canvassing on the part of Tamworth and some judicious payments quieted the Whig opposition, and Tamworth and the sitting member,
Sir Thomas Cave, were returned without a poll. In the new Parliament, he was
teller in favour of a
supply bill
In the Westminster system (and, colloquially, in the United States), a money bill or supply bill is a bill that solely concerns taxation or government spending (also known as appropriation of money), as opposed to changes in public law.
Conv ...
on 22 June to grant
Queen Anne 32 years of additional duties on various goods. Two weeks later, he was, like his father, stricken by
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
and died on 5 July.
He was buried at Staunton Harold.
He left his estates, including Tamworth Castle, to his sister
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
, who later married
James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton
James Compton, 5th Earl of Northampton (2 May 1687 – 3 October 1754), known as Lord Compton from 1687 to 1727, was a British peer and politician.
Northampton was the eldest son of George Compton, 4th Earl of Northampton, and his wife Jane (né ...
, and his
personal property
property is property that is movable. In common law systems, personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. In civil law systems, personal property is often called movable property or movables—any property that can be moved fr ...
to his aunt, Lady Barbara Shirley (d. 1768).
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tamworth, Robert Shirley, Viscount
1692 births
1714 deaths
British courtesy viscounts
British MPs 1713–1715
Deaths from smallpox
Heirs apparent who never acceded
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Leicestershire