Robert Sparrow (1741–1822) was an English country landowner and 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 ...

between 1774 and 1775.

Life

Sparrow was the eldest son of Robert Sparrow of Worlingham and his wife Anne Bence, daughter of Robert Bence of Henstead, Suffolk and was baptized on 24 October 1741. He was educated at Bury St Edmunds Grammar School, and was admitted at Emmanuel College, Cambridge in 1759 and 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 Inn ...

in 1759. He succeeded his father to Worlingham Hall on 20 October 1765. Sparrow 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 o ...

for Bedford at the 1774 general election on the interest of his brother-in-law Sir Robert Bernard, 5th Baronet but was unseated on petition 23 March 1775. In his short period in Parliament he voted with Opposition on, 22 February 1775 regarding John Wilkes and does not appear to have spoken in the House Worlingham Hall (geograph 2164498)

Sparrow was

High Sheriff of Suffolk This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...

for 1777–8. He considered standing at Bedford again in

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Bri ...

but decided against it. In 1785 he decided to rebuild Warlingham Hall and commissioned

John Soane Sir John Soane (; né Soan; 10 September 1753 – 20 January 1837) was an English architect who specialised in the Neo-Classical style. The son of a bricklayer, he rose to the top of his profession, becoming professor of architecture at the R ...

to produce plans. Nothing was done with these and Soane was finally paid after threat of litigation in 1796.Country Life Outstanding Suffolk country house for sale 25 March 2010
/ref> In 1800 he decided to proceed with development of the hall and commissioned Francis Sandys to produce revised plans which were implemented. Sparrow died on 8 March 1822.

Family

Sparrow's first marriage was to Mary Bernard, daughter of Sir John Bernard, 4th Baronet, on 8 July 1771. They had a son Robert Bernard Sparrow, and daughter Mary. His son married and had a son, but both predeceased him. Their daughter Mary married

Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford, (1 August 1776 – 27 March 1849), styled The Honourable Archibald Acheson from 1790 to 1806 and Lord Acheson from 1806 to 1807, was a British politician who served as Lieutenant-Governor of Lower Canada a ...

and inherited Worlingham Hall.Alfred Suckling, 'Worlingham', in The History and Antiquities of the County of Suffolk: Volume 1 (Ipswich, 1846), pp. 103-111. British History Online (accessed 23 December 2017)
/ref> After the death of his first wife on 9 February 1793, Sparrow married secondly Mary Brockhaus of Hardwick, Suffolk in 1797.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sparrow, Robert 1741 births 1822 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 High Sheriffs of Suffolk