Thomas Conyers (ca. 16664 October 1728) of

Elemore Hall Elemore Hall is a mid-18th-century country house, now in use as a residential special school, near Pittington, County Durham, England. It is a Grade I listed building. History The manor of Elemore was owned prior to the Dissolution of the Monas ...

, County Durham was an English Tory politician who sat in the

English House of Commons 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 of ...

between 1695 and 1708 and in the

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 ...

from 1708 to 1727.

Early life

Conyers was the fifth son of Nicholas Conyers of Boulby, Yorkshire and the only son of his third wife Margaret Freville, daughter of Nicholas Freville of Hardwick, county Durham. He was a cousin of

John Conyers John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the Democratic Party who served as a U.S. representative from Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western Detroit. ...

. He matriculated at

Trinity College, Oxford (That which you wish to be secret, tell to nobody) , named_for = The Holy Trinity , established = , sister_college = Churchill College, Cambridge , president = Dame Hilary Boulding , location = Broad Street, Oxford OX1 3BH , coordinates ...

on 13 May 1684, aged 17, and was admitted at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

to study law in 1686. He married, by licence dated 25 June 1690, Elizabeth Hall, the daughter and heiress of Thomas Hall of Elemore.

Political career

By the time of his marriage, Conyers had acquired property in county Durham. He was made Freeman of Durham in 1697 and was elected in a contest as Tory

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 Durham City 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 ...

. He was re-elected at the first general election of 1701 and was blacklisted for opposing the preparations for war with France. He did not stand at the second election of that year but was returned unopposed for Durham in 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 ...

. In 1704 he was appointed Equerry to

Prince George of Denmark Prince George of Denmark ( da, Jørgen; 2 April 165328 October 1708) was the husband of Anne, Queen of Great Britain. He was the consort of the British monarch from Anne's accession on 8 March 1702 until his death in 1708. The marriage of Georg ...

and avoided the vote for the Tack. At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

he topped the poll in a contest, but after he voted against the Court candidate for Speaker in 1705, he was dismissed from his post as Equerry in 1706. He was returned unopposed as MP 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 ...

. There was a contest 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 he topped the poll. He was listed as one of the ‘Tory patriots’ who had opposed the continuation of the war and one of the ‘worthy patriots’ who detected the mismanagements of the previous administration. He voted in support of the French commerce bill of 18 June 1713. 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 ...

, he and his son-in-law George Baker, were both returned unopposed at Durham City. Throughout the parliaments he voted and was listed as a Tory. Conyers and his son-in-law were returned unopposed again as MPs for Durham City 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 ...

. He voted consistently against the Whig administration. At the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

he was successful in a contest for the seat. He did not stand in

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

Death and legacy

Conyers died on 4 October 1728. He and his wife had one daughter Elizabeth, who inherited the Elemore estate. She married George Baker, and their son, another George, rebuilt Elemore Hall.

References

1660s births 1728 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from Durham, England English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for City of Durham British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub