Sir Edward Seymour, of

Berry Pomeroy Berry Pomeroy is a village and civil parish in the South Hams district of Devon, England, east of the town of Totnes. The parish is surrounded clockwise from the north by the parishes of Ipplepen, Marldon, Torbay (unitary authority), Stoke Gabri ...

, 5th Baronet (1660 or 1663 – 29 December 1740) of Bradley House, Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire was an English landowner and Tory politician.

Early life

Seymour was baptized on 18 December 1663, the eldest son of the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

and

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. Th ...

politician

Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 4th Baronet, MP (1632/1633 – 17 February 1708) was a British nobleman, and a Royalist and Tory politician. Life Born at Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon, of a family greatly influential in the Western coun ...

and his first wife, Margaret Wale. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1679. He married his cousin Laetitia Popham, the daughter of Sir Francis Popham, of Littlecote, Wiltshire, and his wife Eleanor Rogers, on 11 August 1685. She was also the niece of his stepmother, also named Letitia Popham, who died in 1714.

Career

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 ...

, Seymour was returned 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

West Looe West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

. He stood down 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 ...

. Seymour succeeded his father on 17 February 1708 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 ...

and the huge original Bradley House in Wiltshire. 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 stood on his own interest as Tory MP for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-so ...

. He made little impression, but voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell. 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 returned as MP for

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun (River Kennet), River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough, Wilt ...

with Lord Bruce. He was listed as a ‘worthy patriot’ who helped to detect the mismanagements of the previous administration, but developed reservations about the Tory administration of Harley. He was returned again 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 did not stand in

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

. Seymour completed Bradley House in 1710, which enabled the family to leave their crumbling seat at

Berry Pomeroy Castle Berry Pomeroy Castle, a Tudor mansion within the walls of an earlier castle, is near the village of Berry Pomeroy, in South Devon, England. It was built in the late 15th century by the Pomeroy family which had held the land since the 11th centur ...

in Devon. He also acquired and rebuilt Rumwell Hall at

Bishop's Hull Bishop's Hull is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated in the western suburbs of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. It includes the areas of Rumwell, Rumwell Park, Roughmoor and Longaller and is close to the ...

, Somerset in 1733.

Death and legacy

Seymour died on 29 December 1740. By his wife he had twelve children:The Complete Peerage vol.XIIpI, p.84. *

Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset Edward Seymour, 8th Duke of Somerset (December 1694 or early 1695 – December 1757) was an English peer and landowner. Family The son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet, of Berry Pomeroy, a descendant of Lord Protector Somerset by his fi ...

(1694–1757) *

Francis Seymour, of Sherborne, Dorset Francis Seymour (1697 – 23 December 1761), of Sherborne House, Dorset, was a British landowner and Tory politician, who sat in the House of Commons from 1732 to 1741. Seymour was the second son of Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet and his wif ...

(1697–1761) *Alexander Seymour (d. 3 April 1731), unmarried *William Seymour, of

East Knoyle East Knoyle is a village and civil parish in Wiltshire, in the south-west of England, just west of the A350 and about south of Warminster and north of Shaftesbury, Dorset. It was the birthplace of the architect Sir Christopher Wren. The parish ...

, Wiltshire (1713 – 5 January 1746/1747), m. firstly 17 April 1737 Elizabeth Hippye (d. 22 March 1741/1742), daughter of John Hippye, of

Frome Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in eastern Somerset, England. The town is built on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills, and centres on the River Frome. The town, about south of Bath, is the largest in the Mendip d ...

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, and wife, m. secondly 2 August 1745 Mary Hyde (d. 8 November 1753), daughter of Samuel Hyde, of

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and wife, without any issue from both marriages *Laetitia Seymour, married John Gapper and had issue *Margaret Seymour, married Richard Jones, of Ramsbury *Elizabeth Seymour (d. 5 May 1756), married Henry Hungerford, of Field *Anne Seymour (d. February 1755), married William Scroggs, of Chute Lodge *Eleanor Seymour (d. bef. 1756?), unmarried *Mary Seymour, married Rev. Hammond *Jane Seymour, married William Colman, of Garnhay *Katherine Seymour, married John Philip Fuhr, of Bristol His estate passed to his eldest son,

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

, who reunited the two branches of the Seymour family when he inherited the dukedom of Somerset in 1750.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Edward, 5th Baronet 1660s births 1741 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Edward Seymour, 5th baronet Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1690–1695 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Totnes Members of Parliament for Great Bedwyn