Thomas Coplestone (1688–1748) of

Bowden, Yealmpton Bowden is a historic estate in the parish of Yealmpton in Devon, England. From the 15th century until 1748 the manor house was for eight generationsVivian, p.226 the seat of a junior branch of the Copleston family of Copplestone. The manor hous ...

, Devon, was a British landowner and Whig 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. ...

for 29 years from 1719 to 1748.

Origins

Coplestone was baptized on 25 May 1688 the eldest son of John Copleston of Bowden and his wife Mary Reynell of West Ogwell, Devon. From the 15th century until 1748 Bowden was for 8 generations the seat of a junior branch of the prominent and ancient Copleston family of

Copplestone Copplestone (anciently Copelaston, Coplestone etc.) is a village, former manor and civil parish in Mid Devon in the English county of Devon. It is not an ecclesiastical parish as it has no church of its own, which reflects its status as a re ...

in the parish of Colebrooke, Devon. Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, pp.224-6, pedigree of Copleston It was first the seat of Walter Copleston, the 3rd son of John Copleston (d.1458) of Copleston. John Copleston served three times as a

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 Devon, and married Elizabeth Hawley (d.1457), daughter and eventual heiress of John Hawley (died 1436) "the Younger", of Dartmouth in Devon, 12 times a

for Dartmouth, and son of John Hawley (d.1408) ("the Elder") of Dartmouth, a wealthy ship owner who served fourteen times as Mayor of Dartmouth and was elected four times as a Member of Parliament for Dartmouth, whose magnificent

monumental brass A monumental brass is a type of engraved sepulchral memorial, which in the 13th century began to partially take the place of three-dimensional monuments and effigies carved in stone or wood. Made of hard latten or sheet brass, let into the paveme ...

survives in St Saviour's Church, Dartmouth.

Career

He 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 ...

in 1704 for training as a lawyer. He was elected a

for

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

in Cornwall, a

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

owned by the Rolle family of

Heanton Satchville, Petrockstowe Heanton Satchville was a historic manor in the parish of Petrockstowe, North Devon, England. With origins in the Domesday manor of Hantone, it was first recorded as belonging to the Yeo family in the mid-14th century and was then owned succe ...

, Devon, at a by-election on 4 December 1719 in succession to Samuel Rolle (1646–1719) of whose estates he was a trustee. He was a Whig and voted with the Administration in every recorded division, except when he was absent. He was elected again in

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel ''Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), as ...

, but was returned unopposed 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 ...

. In 1730, he was appointed Clerk of quit-rents and forfeitures in Ireland and held the post for the rest of his life. He was returned unopposed as MP for Callington in

1734 Events January– March * January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Province of Georgia, Georgia in North America ...

but he faced contests which he won in

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. * February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...

and

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II Coul ...

Death and succession

He died unmarried on 19 February 1748. After his death his executors sold Bowden to William Pollexfen Bastard (1727–1782) of nearby Kitley in the parish of

Yealmpton Yealmpton () is a village and civil parish in the English county of Devon. It is located in the South Hams on the A379 Plymouth to Kingsbridge road and is about from Plymouth. Its name derives from the River Yealm that flows through the villag ...

,Vivian, p.51, pedigree of Bastard who was gazetted as a

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 ...

in 1779 but as he took no steps towards passing the

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

the title was not used by him or his descendants.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coplestone, Thomas 1688 births 1748 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Callington British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754