Sir Stephen Lennard, 2nd Baronet (2 March 1637 – 15 December 1709) of Wickham Court, West Wickham, Kent was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons ...

in two periods between 1681 and 1701 and in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the ...

from 1708 to 1709. Lennard was the son of Sir Stephen Lennard, 1st Baronet of West Wickham and his third wife Anne Oglander, daughter of

John Oglander Sir John Oglander (12 May 1585 – 28 November 1655) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1625 to 1629. He is now remembered as a diarist. Life Oglander was born at Nunwell House on the Isle of Wight, the son of Wi ...

of Nunwell House, Nunwell, Isle of Wight. He married Elizabeth Roy, widow of John Roy of Woodlands, Dorset, and daughter of Delalyne Hussey of Shapwick, Dorset after a settlement of 30 December 1671. He was Commissioner for assessment for Kent and Surrey from 1677 to 1680, and appointed deputy lieutenant for Kent in 1679. On 29 January 1680, 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 ...

on the death of his father and was subsequently appointed a JP. Lennard 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 o ...

(MP) for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The ...

in a contest at the

1681 English general election The 1681 English general election returned members to the last parliament of Charles II. Dubbed the Oxford Parliament, the body elected sat for one week from 21 March 1681 until 28 March 1681. Party strengths are an approximation, with many MPs ...

but took little part in proceedings. He was a colonel of the militia by 1683. He did not stand at the

1685 English general election The 1685 English general election elected the only parliament of James II of England, known as the Loyal Parliament. This was the first time the pejorative words Whig and Tory were used as names for political groupings in the Parliament of Englan ...

. He was dismissed from all his local offices in February 1688 because he failed to answer the three questions, on account of 'illness'. However he was restored as JP and

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of a regiment of the

Kent Militia The Kent Militia was an auxiliary military force in Kent in the South East England. From their formal organisation as Trained Bands in 1558 until their final service as the Special Reserve, the Militia regiments of the county served in home defenc ...

in October 1688 and was Commissioner of Assessment for Kent from 1689 to 1690 and deputy lieutenant from 1689 for the rest of his life.Col George Jackson Hay, ''An Epitomized History of the Militia (The Constitutional Force)'', London:United Service Gazette, 1905, p. 377.
/ref> 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 ...

, Lennard was returned unopposed as MP for

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 ...

. He did not stand again in the 1701 elections. He was next returned for Kent again as a Whig in a contest 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 supported the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and, on 12 December 1709, he was added to a committee drafting a local turnpike bill. On 14 December the House of Commons voted to impeach Dr Sacheverell, and he was heard to comment that they were going 'to roast a parson'. Lennard dropped dead of apoplexy aged 72 on 15 December 1709, the day after his comment, while walking in

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster. Notable landmarks T ...

, London. He was buried at West Wickham. He had three daughters, and a son

Samuel Samuel ''Šəmūʾēl'', Tiberian: ''Šămūʾēl''; ar, شموئيل or صموئيل '; el, Σαμουήλ ''Samouḗl''; la, Samūēl is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the bib ...

, who succeeded to the baronetcy.

References

1637 births 1709 deaths English MPs 1681 English MPs 1698–1700 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 Baronets in the Baronetage of England Kent Militia officers {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub