Sir Thomas Frankland, 2nd Baronet (September 1665 – 30 October 1726), of

Thirkleby Hall Thirkleby Hall was a large 18th-century country house in Great Thirkleby in the Hambleton hills of North Yorkshire. It was demolished in 1927. History The manor of Thirkleby was acquired in 1576 by William Frankland, a wealthy London merchant. ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the

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and

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from 1685 to 1711. He was joint Postmaster General from 1691 to 1715.

Early life

Frankland was the eldest son of

Sir William Frankland, 1st Baronet Sir William Frankland, 1st Baronet (c. 1640 – 2 August 1697) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1671 to 1685. Frankland was the eldest son of Sir Henry Frankland of Thirkelby, Yorkshire. On 24 December ...

and his wife Arabella Belasyse, daughter of Hon. Henry Belasyse MP of

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, Yorkshire. He was at Cambridge University from 1680 to 1681 and was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1683. He married Elizabeth Russell, daughter of Sir John Russell and

Frances Cromwell Frances Cromwell, Lady Russell (c. 6 December 1638 – 27 January 1720) was the ninth child and youngest daughter of Oliver Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his wife, Elizabeth Cromwell. She w ...

(daughter of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

), by licence dated 14 February 1683.

Career

Frankland entered Parliament at the 1685 English general election 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

Thirsk Thirsk is a market town and civil parish in the Hambleton district of North Yorkshire, England known for its racecourse; quirky yarnbomber displays, and depiction as local author James Herriot's fictional Darrowby. History Archeological ...

as a substitute for his father who was known as an exclusionist. He played no part in parliament, but was returned again at the 1689 English general election. He was appointed a Commissioner for

excise file:Lincoln Beer Stamp 1871.JPG, upright=1.2, 1871 U.S. Revenue stamp for 1/6 barrel of beer. Brewers would receive the stamp sheets, cut them into individual stamps, cancel them, and paste them over the Bunghole, bung of the beer barrel so when ...

in April 1689, but lost the post in October when he was unable to subscribe to a government loan. Frankland was returned again as a Whig MP for Thirsk at the 1690 English general election and in February 1691 was appointed joint Postmaster-General with Sir Robert Cotton, a

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

, the post having been split to be shared between a Whig and a Tory. He held the post until 1715 and proved an assiduous postmaster, making many improvements, particularly with regard to overseas mail. However his Parliamentary activity was slight. He did not stand at the 1695 English general election, but was returned instead as MP for

Hedon Hedon is a town and civil parish in Holderness in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately east of Hull city centre. It lies to the north of the A1033 road at the crossroads of the B1240 and B1362 roads. It is ...

in a by-election on 7 December 1695. He signed the

Association Association may refer to: *Club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal *Trade association, an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry *Voluntary associatio ...

in February 1696 and voted with the

Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

for fixing the price of

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

at 22 shillings in March. He and Cotton were charged with improving laws related to the post office. He voted for the

attainder In English criminal law, attainder or attinctura was the metaphorical "stain" or "corruption of blood" which arose from being condemned for a serious capital crime (felony or treason). It entailed losing not only one's life, property and hereditar ...

of Sir John Fenwick on 25 November 1696. On the death of his father on 2 August 1697, he succeeded 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 ...

. At the 1698 English general election he was returned again as MP for Thirsk. He presented a petition to the House of Commons on 23 February 1699, from the inhabitants and clothiers of Halifax, with regard to woollen manufacture. Frankland was returned unopposed again for

at the two general elections of 1701 and at the 1702 English general election. He started to use his interest in Yorkshire and in the Post Office to influence the results at other constituencies. At the 1705 English general election, he was returned unopposed for Thirsk again. He voted for the

candidate for

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

on 25 October 1705, and supported the Court in the proceedings on the '

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clause' of the

regency bill George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

on 18 February 1706. He was returned again for Thirsk at the 1708 British general election and supported the naturalization of the Palatines. He became involved in the attempt of Dumfries Burgh to have their postal service to

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from xcb, Caer Luel) is a city that lies within the Northern England, Northern English county of Cumbria, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, Scottish border at the confluence of the rivers River Eden, Cumbria, Eden, River C ...

established by

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. The issue became wrapped up in the general attempts to improve the

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and other procedural matters and was lost in that parliament. Meanwhile, Frankland voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell. He was returned again for Thirsk at the 1710 British general election and on 18 February 1711 he was appointed to the committee to draft a bill to establish a General Post Office for Great Britain and the

dominions The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, Dominion of New Zealand, New Zealand, Dominion of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Un ...

. At about this time he discovered that a clause in the first Lottery Act made his post as joint postmaster incompatible with a seat in Parliament. After voting against an amendment to the South Sea bill on 25 May 1711, he vacated his seat in Parliament. Frankland kept his place as joint postmaster-general until 1715 after the accession of

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, and was appointed as a Commissioner for

customs Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...

until 1718 when he was too infirm to carry on. He was then given a pension of £500 a year. He retired from public life. In 1722 he rebuilt the church at

Thirkleby Thirkleby may refer to: *Thirkleby High and Low with Osgodby, a civil parish in Hambleton District, North Yorkshire, England, which includes the villages of Great Thirkleby and Little Thirkleby * Thirkleby, Kirby Grindalythe, a hamlet in the parish ...

at his own expense.

Death and legacy

Frankland died on 30 October 1726, in his 62nd year, and was buried at Thirkleby. He left his lands to his eldest son

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, and more than £13,000 divided between his other legatees, including his surviving family, servants and tenants He and his wife had nine children: * Thomas Frankland (c. 1685–1747), who succeeded his father in the baronetcy and was also MP for Thirsk and for

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

* William Frankland (died 1714), Treasurer of the Stamp Office * John, died young in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Henry Frankland Henry Frankland (1690–1738) was an administrator of the English East India Company. Frankland served as President of Bengal in the eighteenth century. He was a younger son of Sir Thomas Frankland, 2nd Baronet and Elizabeth Russell (through ...

, Governor of Bengal (died 1728), father of Sir Charles Frankland, 4th Baronet, and

Sir Thomas Frankland, 5th Baronet Admiral Sir Thomas Frankland, 5th Baronet (26 June 1718 – 21 November 1784) was a British naval officer, MP and slave trader. He was the second son of Henry Frankland and Mary Cross. Frankland was born in the East Indies (probably India), his ...

* Richard Frankland (died 1761), Commissioner of the Salt Office * Frederick Meinhardt Frankland (c. 1694–1768), barrister-at-law, MP for Thirsk * Robert Frankland, murdered in India * Mary (died 1722), who married Thomas

Worsley Worsley () is a village in the City of Salford, Greater Manchester, England, which in 2014 had a population of 10,090. It lies along Worsley Brook, west of Manchester. Within the boundaries of the Historic counties of England, historic county ...

Hovingham Hall Hovingham Hall is a country house built in the Palladian style in the village of Hovingham, North Yorkshire, England. It has been the seat of the Worsley family and the childhood home of the Duchess of Kent. It was built in the 18th century on ...

* Frances, who married Roger Talbot Two of his sons sat for Thirsk between 1713 and 1749

was rebuilt in 1790, and Thirkleby Church was replaced in 1851.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankland, Thomas 2nd Baronet 1665 births 1726 deaths Frankland, Thomas, 2nd Baronet English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 United Kingdom Postmasters General Members of the Parliament of England for Hedon