Sir Edmund Bacon, 5th Baronet (7 August 1693 – 4 October 1738), of

Gillingham, Norfolk Gillingham ( ) is a small village located just off the A146 in South Norfolk, about 1 mile north of the market town of Beccles. The full name of the parish is Gillingham All Saints and St Mary. It covers an area of and had a population of 650 ...

, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Whig 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. ...

from 1722 to 1738.

Early life

Bacon was the eldest son of Sir Edmund Bacon, 4th Baronet of Mildenhall, and his first wife Philippa Bacon, daughter of Sir Edmund Bacon, 4th Baronet of Redgrave. He attended school in

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fli ...

and

Bishop Stortford Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town in Hertfordshire, England, just west of the M11 motorway on the county boundary with Essex, north-east of central London, and by rail from Liverpool Street station. Stortford had an estimated p ...

and was admitted at

Caius College, Cambridge Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...

in 1710. He was admitted 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 an ...

in 1714 and from 1716 to 1720 he was a fellow at Cambridge. In 1721, he succeeded his father to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. He married Susan Rebow, daughter of Sir Isaac Rebow, of Colchester, on 7 November 1724, at the

Chapel Royal The Chapel Royal is an establishment in the Royal Household serving the spiritual needs of the sovereign and the British Royal Family. Historically it was a body of priests and singers that travelled with the monarch. The term is now also applie ...

St James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Altho ...

Career

At the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

, Bacon 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 ...

(MP) for

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...

. He made his first recorded speech on 12 November 1724, when he seconded the Address. He spoke for the Government on the army on 23 November 1724 and 25 January 1727, and on a vote of credit on 12 April 1727. At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

he was returned again for Thetford and continued making contributions. He spoke on the Address on 21 January 1729 and on 13 January 1730, on the army on 29 January 1730 and on Dunkirk on 12 February 1730. He was commended for his wise speech when the salt duty was taken off' in 1730. He spoke on the Hessians on 3 February 1731 and on foreign affairs on 23 February. 1731. He was seen as an attached servant to Sir Robert Walpole and was duly rewarded. He held a grant of some lighthouses worth £500 a year for a term of years, and in 1733 was shown to have a grant of crown lands at Chatham while his brother held a post in the customs. Bacon was returned unopposed again at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

, In 1737, he spoke against Sir John Barnard's scheme for converting the national debt.

Death and legacy

Bacon died at

Bath, Somerset Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

on 4 October 1738, and was buried at

, two weeks later. He and his wife had a daughter and two sons, and his only surviving son, Edmund, succeeded to the

References

1693 births 1738 deaths

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name or surname in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and ...

Baronets in the Baronetage of England British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from South Norfolk (district) {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub