Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage (c. 1695 – 21 December 1754) of High Meadow, Gloucestershire and later Firle Place, Sussex, was a British landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

as a Whig for 33 years between 1717 and 1754. 1st_Viscount_Gage

Early life

Gage was the eldest son of Joseph Gage of

Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remodelled in the Georgian era by Thomas Parker, the fi ...

and Elizabeth Penruddock, the daughter and heiress of Sir George Penruddock. He succeeded his father-in-law to High Meadow in 1714. He converted to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

in 1715, perhaps to enable him to sit in parliament. Alden (1948), pp. 5,8

Career

Gage was elected

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 Minehead at a by-election on 11 April 1717, but was unseated on petition on 23 May 1717. On 14 September 1720, King George I created him Baron Gage of

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Developing around a 13th century castle of the de Barry family, de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal poi ...

in the county of Mayo, and

Viscount Gage Viscount Gage, of Castle Island in the County of Kerry of the Kingdom of Ireland, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1720 for Thomas Gage, along with the subsidiary title of Baron Gage, of Castlebar in the County of Mayo ...

of Castle Island in the county of Kerry of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland ( ga, label=Classical Irish, an Ríoghacht Éireann; ga, label=Modern Irish, an Ríocht Éireann, ) was a monarchy on the island of Ireland that was a client state of England and then of Great Britain. It existed from ...

. Although styled as Viscount and eligible to sit in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of England, with membe ...

, this did not prevent him from sitting 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 ...

. In 1719 he was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke of ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

and others. Gage was elected MP for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...

at a by-election on 25 October 1721 and was elected again at the 1722 general election. In his first session of this parliament, he made several speeches against the special tax on Papists. In April 1727 he spoke for the motion for a vote of credit. He was returned again at the 1727 general election. He exposed the fraudulent sale of the Derwentwater estates on 31 March 1732, and was subsequently rewarded with £2,000 for this under the Greenwich Hospital Act 1735. At the 1734 general election, he was returned again as MP for Tewkesbury. He introduced a bill to prevent clandestine marriages, in 1736, but it was rejected. In 1738, it was rumoured that he was to be appointed as

Governor of Barbados This article contains a list of viceroys in Barbados from its initial colonisation in 1627 by England until it achieved independence in 1966. From 1833 to 1885, Barbados was part of the colony of the Windward Islands, and the governor of Barbad ...

, but the appointment was never materialised, probably because he lacked sufficient political connections. Alden (1948), p. 6 He went into opposition with Pulteney and the

Patriot Whigs The Patriot Whigs, later the Patriot Party, were a group within the Whig Party in Great Britain from 1725 to 1803. The group was formed in opposition to the government of Robert Walpole in the House of Commons in 1725, when William Pulteney (l ...

in 1739, but in February 1741, he was one of the opposition Whigs who withdrew on the motion for Walpole's removal. He was returned to parliament again at the 1741 general election.

On 23 April 1744, his cousin,

Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet Sir William Gage (1695 – 23 April 1744) of Firle Place was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1744. He was an early patron of cricket, in association with his friend Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Ri ...

, died without children, and Gage inherited the baronetcy and the family estate of

Firle Place Firle Place is a Manor house in Firle, Sussex, United Kingdom. The Gage family have owned the land at Firle since acquiring it from the Levett family in the 15th century. The manor house was first built in the late 15th century by Sir John Gage ...

. Sir William's late father was Gage's uncle -

Sir John Gage, 4th Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, Sheriff of

Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the English ...

. The main line of the family, up to the 7th Baronet, had been Roman Catholic

recusant Recusancy (from la, recusare, translation=to refuse) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign ...

s who had purchased their

baronet 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 ...

cy from

King James I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, and Gage quietly resumed practising Roman Catholicism, although his children were raised in the Church of England. At the 1747 general election, he was returned again for Tewkesbury and joined the opposition. In 1747 was appointed Steward of the Household of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales, (Frederick Louis, ; 31 January 170731 March 1751), was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen Caroline. Frederick was the fath ...

and held the post until 1751.

First Wife & Children

Under a marriage settlement dated 3 October 1713, he married Benedicta Maria Theresa Hall, daughter and heiress of Henry Benedict Hall of High Meadow, Gloucestershire and his wife Frances Fortescue. Through his marriage to Benedicta, Thomas acquired wealthy estates in Gloucestershire in 1714 including High Meadow house, which became his principle residence, and the sinecure o
Verderer of the Forest of Dean
Firle Estate Website
The Gage Family
accessed 1 December 2021 Their marriage, although unfortunately unhappy, still produced two sons and one daughter. 1.

William Hall Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage William Hall Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage (6 January 1717/18 – 11 October 1791) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1744 and 1780 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Gage. He was equerry to the Prince of Wales. ...

, born on 6 Jan 1717/18 and christened 29 Jan 1717/18 at Westminster St James, Middlesex, England. Church of England, Westminster St Jame (Middlesex) Parish Register, vol. 2 (1699–1723), n.p., baptism of William Hall Gage, 31 January 1717/18. 2. General, the Hon.

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army general officer and colonial official best known for his many years of service in North America, including his role as British commander-in-chief in the early days of th ...

, born on 10 March 1718/19 at Firle and christened 31 March 1719 at Westminster St James, Middlesex, England. Church of England, Westminster St James (Middlesex) Register, vol. 2 (1699–1723), n.p, baptism of Thomas Gage, 31 March 1719, 3. Hon. Benedicta Maria Teresa Gage, married in 6 Mar 1755, at St George's, Hanover Sq, a catholic, George Tasburgh of

Bodney Bodney is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Hilborough, in the Breckland district, in the county of Norfolk, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 70. History Bodney is an Anglo-Saxon name meaning 'Beoda's island ...

, Norfolk, died without issue. MacLean, J. (1883). "Pedigree of Hall and Gage, of Highmeadow." Transactions, 7, pp. 266. Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society. Google Book
p266
accessed 1 December 2021 Benedicta died at Bristol on 25 Jul 1749, and was buried on 30 Jul 1749 at Newland, co. Gloucester "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:73RY-V22M : 13 September 2020), Benedicta Maria Theresa Hall Gage, ; Burial, Newland, Forest of Dean District, Gloucestershire, England, All Saints Churchyard; citing record ID 193467558, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com, accessed 4 December 2021 G.E. Cokayne's Complete Peerage, Vol 5, 1926, Gage of Castle Island, Castle Bar, Firle & High Meadow
p596/7
accessed 4 December 2021 ,having long been separated from Thomas, who married Jane Bond within a year of Benedicta’s death.

Second Wife

He married secondly on 26 December 1750, Jane Bond 'daughter of one Godfrey', and widow of Henry Jermyn Bond, Esq. of Bury St. Edmunds. Her first husband Henry was a nephew (via his wife) of a Gage cousin, Sir William Gage, 2nd Baronet of Hengrave. Jane died without issue, shortly after Thomas, on 8 October 1757 in Dover St, Piccadilly, London. Her will was proved 1757, and she buried in Hengrave Church, Sussex (Suffolk?).

Later life

He had extensive remodelling work done on Firle Place and between 1743 and 1753, and was involved in a number of

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

disputes regarding windfall trees, soil rights, and manorial waste. Gage also spent considerable time collecting paintings which are still housed in the Long Gallery of Firle Place today. Gage and his son were defeated at the 1754 general election, having decided not to respond to the threats of his voters only to vote for candidates who promised to give £1,500 towards mending the roads.

Death and legacy

Gage died on 21 December 1754 and was buried at

Firle Firle (; Sussex dialect: ''Furrel'' ) is a village and civil parish in the Lewes district of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an old-English/Anglo-Saxon word ''fierol'' meaning overgrown with oak. Although the original division of East ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son

. He also had a daughter, Theresa, and a second son

who went on to fame as Commander-in-Chief of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

British America British America comprised the colonial territories of the English Empire, which became the British Empire after the 1707 union of the Kingdom of England with the Kingdom of Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain, in the Americas from 16 ...

at the beginning of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, Thomas 1st Viscount Gage Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Viscounts Gage Peers of Ireland created by George I Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the Ap ...

Fellows of the Royal Society Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 People from Firle