Roger Townshend (after 1675 – 22 May 1709) was a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

officer and 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 1709.

Early life

Townshend was the son of

Horatio Townshend, 1st Viscount Townshend Horatio Townshend, 1st Baron Townsend and 1st Viscount Townshend (; 14 December 1630 – 10 December 1687), known as Sir Horatio Townshend, 3rd Baronet, of Raynham, from 1648 to 1661, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons betw ...

, of

Raynham Hall Raynham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. For nearly 400 years it has been the seat of the Townshend family. The hall gave its name to the five estate villages, known as The Raynhams, and is reported to be haunted, providing the scen ...

, and his second wife Mary Ashe, daughter of

Sir Joseph Ashe, 1st Baronet Sir Joseph Ashe, 1st Baronet (16 February 1617 – 15 April 1686) was an English Whig politician and merchant. He was born into a rising and prominent family of industrialists from Somerset, and was the third surviving son of James Ashe Esquir ...

, of Twickenham, Middlesex. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

from about 1688 to 1695 and matriculated from

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the city ...

at Easter 1695.

Career

Townshend 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

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

at the two general elections of 1701 on the interest of his elder brother

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, (; 18 April 167421 June 1738) was an English Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, 1714–1717, 1721–1730. He directed British foreign policy in ...

. Before 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 ...

, he fell out with his fellow member, Sir John Holland, Bt, and refused to stand. He was subsequently appointed Deputy Lieutenant. 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 agreed to stand with Holland again and was returned as Whig MP. He supported the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705, and voted with the Court over the regency bill on 18 February 1706. On 12 April 1706 he was appointed

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

for life of a regiment of Foot which had been raised to fight in Spain.Charles Dalton, ''English Army Lists and Commission Registers 1661–1714'', vol. 5 (London, 1902
p. 198
He was not then sent abroad and in Parliament was nominated to the committee to draft a bill to regulate rates for importing coal into Great Yarmouth. He suffered from ill=health and after receiving treatment at Ghent in October 1707, narrowly escaped drowning when the ship he was returning on foundered in bad weather. 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 ...

Townshend refused to stand for Norfolk, but was returned by his brother as Whig MP for

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

. In August 1708, he was embarked with his regiment but applied for leave to resign his commission if he was ordered to Portugal, In the event the regiment was sent to Flanders instead. In 1709 he voted in Parliament for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709.

Death and legacy

Townshend died unmarried on 22 May 1709 at Bath, where he was being treated for his health, and was buried at Raynham.

References

1670s births 1709 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of King's College, Cambridge British Army officers Members of Parliament for Norfolk English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 Younger sons of viscounts {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub