Thomas Calley (31 May 1780 – 17 September 1863) was a British landowner and politician, who represented

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

in Parliament from 1812 to 1818 and 1831 to 1834. Calley was born on 31 May 1780,The date is given in Farrell (2009), correcting 31 August as given in Thorne (1986). the eldest son of Thomas Browne Calley, a member of an established gentry family resident at

Burderop Park Burderop Park is a Grade II* listed country manor house near Chiseldon, Wiltshire, England. The house was constructed in the early 17th century to a courtyard design, and was turned into a three-storey square house with bay windows during the 18th ...

for several centuries. He inherited his father's estates in 1791, was educated at

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

, and in 1801 commissioned in the

Wiltshire Yeomanry The Royal Wiltshire Yeomanry (RWY) was a Yeomanry regiment of the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom established in 1794. It was disbanded as an independent Territorial Army unit in 1967, a time when the strength of the Territorial ...

. He married Elizabeth Keck, daughter of

Anthony James Keck Anthony James Keck (c1740 – 1782) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1765 to 1780. Keck was born in Stoughton, Leicestershire, and educated at Eton, St John's College, Cambridge, and Lincoln's Inn. He was member of ...

, in 1802. Prior to entering politics, he lived as "an unremarkable country gentleman", and was made

High Sheriff of Wiltshire This is a list of the Sheriffs and (after 1 April 1974) High Sheriffs of Wiltshire. Until the 14th century, the shrievalty was held ''ex officio'' by the castellans of Old Sarum Castle. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Gov ...

in 1807–8. He expressed an interest in representing the borough of

at a by-election in 1811, when

Lord Porchester Earl of Carnarvon is a title that has been created three times in British history. The current holder is George Herbert, 8th Earl of Carnarvon. The town and county in Wales to which the title refers are historically spelled ''Caernarfon,'' havi ...

succeeded his father and entered the House of Lords, but was persuaded to stand at the following general election instead. He did so, and was returned unopposed as a supporter of the government in the 1812 general election. Later in the Parliament he began to vote occasionally with the opposition. He was defeated at the 1818 general election, which cost him almost £5,000 in expenses, and caused his bankruptcy. His election agent described him as a type of politician who "don't mind how much money is spent ... utfind it not convenient to pay it." He was forced to let Burderop and moved to

Salthrop House Salthrop House is a country house about west of the village of Wroughton, Wiltshire, in England. It is Grade II listed on the National Heritage List for England. There was a large house on the site in the early 17th century. The present house w ...

, his mother-in-law's residence; on her death in 1826 the estates were inherited by his wife Elizabeth. He remained politically active through the 1820s, increasingly conservative; he was a senior freemason in the county, signed an anti-Catholic declaration, and supported a testimonial thanking the yeomanry for suppressing the Swing Riots. At the 1831 general election, the anti-reform Tory

Joseph Pitt Joseph Pitt (1759–1842) was a British lawyer of humble origins who prospered as a property speculator, notably in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, but also in Wiltshire, and who served as a Tory MP for Cricklade, Wiltshire 1812–1831. His ...

stood down in Cricklade and Calley was selected as his replacement. He cautiously supported reform "to an extent which should satisfy all reasonable men", "dictated by prudence and moderation", but promised to defend the representation of Cricklade as it now stood. He was elected in second place, behind a reformer candidate. In the following Parliament, he did support the reform bill, having "arrived at the conviction that no honest man ought to refuse his assent to it". In the 1832 general election he was returned as a liberal, and remained in Parliament until he stood down at dissolution in December 1834. Calley died in

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Würt ...

in September 1836. His wife had died in April 1832, after a rumoured separation due to ill-treatment, and both their estates were inherited by their surviving son,

John James Calley John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(1810-1854).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Calley (politician), Thomas 1780 births 1836 deaths UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 People from Wiltshire Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge