Thomas Beaumont Bewes (18 December 1777 – 18 November 1857) was a British politician. The son of John Bewes, Mayor of Plymouth, Thomas first stood for Parliament in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

at the 1806 UK general election, but failed to win the seat. His wife died three years later, and he moved to Tothill House with his sister-in-law, who brought up his children. He later moved to a property which he renamed Beaumont House, and served a term as

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

. Bewes was a strong advocate of the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament, Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major chan ...

. At the

1832 UK general election The 1832 United Kingdom general election, the first after the Reform Act 1832, Reform Act, saw the Whigs (British political party), Whigs win a large majority, with the Tories winning less than 30% of the vote. Political situation The Charles ...

, he stood for the constituency of

, and won a seat as a Whig. On the radical wing of the party, he argued for removing bishops from the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. He held his seat at the

1835 Events January–March * January 7 – anchors off the Chonos Archipelago on her second voyage, with Charles Darwin on board as naturalist. * January 8 – The United States public debt contracts to zero, for the only time in history. ...

and

1837 UK general election The 1837 United Kingdom general election was triggered by the death of King William IV and produced the first Parliament of the reign of his successor, Queen Victoria. It saw Robert Peel's Conservatives close further on the position of the Whi ...

s, and stood down in 1841.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bewes, Thomas 1777 births 1857 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Plymouth People from Plymouth, Devon UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies High Sheriffs of Devon