Sir Thomas Webster, 1st Baronet (1679 – 30 May 1751), of

Copped Hall Copped Hall, also known as Copt Hall or Copthall, is a mid-18th-century English country house close to Waltham Abbey, Essex, which has been undergoing restoration since 1999. Copped Hall is visible from the M25 motorway between junctions 26 and ...

, Essex, and

Battle Abbey Battle Abbey is a partially ruined Benedictine abbey in Battle, East Sussex, England. The abbey was built on the site of the Battle of Hastings and dedicated to St Martin of Tours. It is a Scheduled Monument. The Grade I listed site is now op ...

, Sussex, was a British landowner 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 1705 and 1727. Copped Hall-geograph-4846507

Webster was the eldest son of Sir Godfrey Webster, a well-to-do clothier of Fenchurch St., London, and the Nelmes, Havering, Essex and educated at the

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 ...

from 1697. On 2 October 1701, he married Jane Cheek, the daughter and heiress of Edward Cheek of Sandford Orcas, Somerset and his wife Mary Whistler. She was the daughter and co-heiress of the wealthy merchant Henry Whistler (who died in 1718), from whom a fortune descended to the Webster family, which they acknowledged by using Whistler as a Christian name in the Webster family. In 1703 he purchased the estate of

in Essex for over £20,000 from

Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex, KG (24 January 164329 January 1706) was an English poet and courtier. Early life Sackville was born on 24 January 1643, son of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677) ...

and was created a Baronet the same year. He also served as

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the ...

for the year 1703 to 1704. Webster was elected the 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 of ...

for

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colches ...

at a by-election on 18 December 1705. He was returned again for Colchester 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 ...

. He was appointed to the commission for the London lieutenancy in 1708, and stood for election as an alderman for Portsoken ward, but was defeated at the poll to secure nomination by a large margin. In Parliament, he voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709, and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

he was again returned for Colchester but was unseated on petition on 27 January 1711. He was returned again in a contest at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...

but was again unseated on petition in 1714 after a dispute over the generous creation of Freemen, who had the right to vote, by the Whig dominated council. He was, however, re-elected 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 ...

, representing the borough until 1727. He was appointed Verderer of Waltham Forest from 1718 until his death. In 1721 he purchased

from Anthony Browne, 6th Viscount Montagu. Webster died on 30 May 1751. He and his wife had 2 sons and 3 daughters. He was succeeded by his son Sir Whistler Webster, 2nd Baronet, who also became an MP. His daughter Abigail married William Northey, MP. The published catalogue of the ''Muniments of Battle Abbey'' (1835) notes (p 199) that Sir Thomas's son and heir Whistler Webster's share of Henry Whistler's property, "independent of what he derived from his father, Sir Thomas" was £68,000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Godfrey Date of birth unknown 1751 deaths Members of the Middle Temple Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1722–1727 High Sheriffs of Essex 1679 births