Sir Humphrey Briggs, 4th Baronet (c. 1670 – 8 December 1734), of Haughton, Shropshire, 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 between 1701 and 1727. Briggs was the eldest son of Sir Humphrey Briggs, 3rd Baronet, of Haughton and Ernstrey Park, near

Diddlebury Diddlebury is a small village and large civil parish in Shropshire, England. It is situated in the Corvedale on the B4368 road about north east of Craven Arms. The population of the Civil Ward in 2011 was 670. Public buildings St Peter's parish ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

and his wife Barbara Wyndham, daughter of Sir Wadham Wyndham of Norrington, Wiltshire. He matriculated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

on 2 July 1687, aged 17 and was admitted at Lincoln's Inn in 1687. He succeeded his father in 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 ...

on 31 January 1699. Briggs was elected as Whig

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 ...

(MP) for

in the general election of February 1701. However he was defeated in the November 1701 general election. In July 1702 he was returned unopposed as MP for

Bridgnorth Bridgnorth is a town in Shropshire, England. The River Severn splits it into High Town and Low Town, the upper town on the right bank and the lower on the left bank of the River Severn. The population at the 2011 Census was 12,079. Histor ...

and was re-elected in a contest in 1705. He was returned unopposed for Bridgnorth in the 1708 general election. He supported he Whig administration, and voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

in 1710. The 1710 British general election was dominated by the issue of the impeachment and Briggs and the other Whig Member for Bridgnorth, were narrowly defeated by two Tories in a fierce contest. Briggs did not stand at the 1715 general election, but was returned at a by-election at Much Wenlock on 13 July 1716. He was convincingly returned for Wenlock at the 1722 general election and stood down in

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

. Briggs died unmarried on 8 December 1734 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his brother, Hugh.

References

1670 births 1734 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Politicians from Shropshire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies English MPs 1701 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 {{England-baronet-stub