Sir Thomas Wheate, 1st Baronet (6 September 1667 – 25 August 1721), of

Glympton Park Glympton Park is a former deer park at Glympton, north of Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It includes Glympton House (an 18th-century country house) and has a estate including the village of Glympton, its Norman parish church of St. Mary, 32 st ...

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

was an

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 ...

landowner and Whig

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

who sat in the

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 1695 and 1721.

Early life

Wheate was the only son of Thomas Wheate of Glympton Park, near

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

and his wife Frances Jenkinson (died 1706), daughter of Sir Robert Jenkinson, 1st Baronet. In 1668, at a year old, he succeeded his father, inheriting Glympton Park. He married Anne Sawbridge, daughter of George Sawbridge, bookseller, of London, by licence dated 24 May 1687.

Career

In 1689, Wheate was made freeman and bailiff of Oxford and appointed a Gentleman of the Privy Chamber, which post he held until 1702. He 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 ...

for

at the

1690 English general election The 1690 English general election occurred after the dissolution of the Convention Parliament summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, and saw the partisan feuds in that parliament continue in the constituencies. The Tories made signi ...

and three weeks later also stood unsuccessfully for Oxfordshire, where he had a bitter contest with his uncle Sir Robert Jenkinson, the 2nd baronet. He was recognized as a Whig, and Court supporter. In the face of a big electoral challenge at Woodstock, he decided not to stand at the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ...

. He was created a

baronet 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 2 May 1696 and served as

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much older ...

for the year 1696 to 1697. His further attempts to enter parliament as a Whig, in a Tory dominated county, over the next few years met with failure. At the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' sup ...

his backing by Thomas Wharton was insufficient to win Oxfordshire, where he failed again in a by-election in November 1699. In the first general election of 1701 he considered standing again but declined to face a contest. In November 1701 he was put up for Oxford by the city's Whigs, but received a very low number of votes, and at 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 was beaten into fourth place in the poll. When Queen Anne granted the manor of Woodstock to the Duke of Marlborough in 1705, this was a particular piece of good fortune for Wheate. Stone from his quarries at Glympton was used in large quantities to build

Blenheim Palace Blenheim Palace (pronounced ) is a country house in Woodstock, Oxfordshire, England. It is the seat of the Dukes of Marlborough and the only non-royal, non- episcopal country house in England to hold the title of palace. The palace, on ...

, and with the Duke's Whig views, Wheate became a close political associate and one of the leading Whigs in the county. Marlborough returned him for Woodstock 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 voted for the naturalization of the Palatine refugees in 1709, and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710 but was otherwise inactive. He was returned again 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. ...

and on 7 December 1711, voted for the ‘ No Peace Without Spain’ motion. On 18 June 1713 he voted against the French commerce bill. Marlborough was in temporary exile from November 1712, and Wheate was virtually the custodian of the Duke's electoral interests at Woodstock. He supervised the repaving the town, which Marlborough had undertaken in preparation for 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 ...

when Wheate was returned again for Woodstock. The election was declared void on 15 March 1714 but he was re-elected a week later. Wheate was returned for Woodstock again at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

and voted with the Administration in every recorded division. He was appointed

Storekeeper of the Ordnance The Principal Storekeeper of the Ordnance was a subordinate of the Master-General of the Ordnance and a member of the English (and later British) Board of Ordnance from its constitution in 1597. He was responsible for the care and maintenance of ...

in 1717 and held the post for the rest of his life. He was assistant and magistrate for Banbury in 1718.

Death and legacy

Wheate died at Glympton on 25 August 1721 and was buried at Glympton church, as was his wife, Anne who predeceased him in 1719. He was succeeded by his eldest son Thomas Wheate.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wheate, Thomas 1667 births 1721 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of England High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire English MPs 1690–1695 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722