William Cheyne, 2nd Viscount Newhaven (14 July 1657 – 26 May 1728) was an English
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
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. ...
from 1681 until 1707 when as a
viscount
A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status.
In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...
in the
Peerage of Scotland
The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Union, ...
he was required to sit in the House of Lords.
Life
Cheyne was the son of
Charles Cheyne, 1st Viscount Newhaven and his wife
Lady Jane Cavendish, daughter of the
first Duke of Newcastle .
[Basil Duke Henning ''The House of Commons, 1660-1690'']
/ref> He matriculated at Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
on 14 July 1671 aged 14.
In 1681, Cheyne 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 Amersham
Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish within the unitary authority of Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, from Aylesbury and from High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt.
...
and sat until 1687. He was elected MP for Appleby in 1689 and sat until 1695. In 1696 he was elected MP for Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...
and held the seat until 1701. In that time he was three times also elected for Amersham, but chose to sit for Buckinghamshire. He succeeded to the title and the estates at Chelsea on the death of his father in 1698.
He was re-elected MP for Buckinghamshire in 1702 and sat until 1705. He served as Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire
There has been a Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire almost continuously since the position was created by King Henry VIII in 1535. The only exception to this was the English Civil War and English Interregnum between 1643 and 1660 when there wa ...
for six months in 1702 until opposed by the Whigs. He was also given the sinecure of Clerk of the Pipe in 1703 which he was able to keep until 1706 in spite of pressure from the Whigs. He was then elected MP for Amersham and sat until 1707 when under the Acts of Union 1707
The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...
, having a Scottish peerage, he was required to sit in the House of Lords. He nevertheless retained an interest in politics and in 1711 regained his position as Clerk of the Pipe for life and in 1712 was made Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire for the second time, losing the lieutenancy on the succession of King George I in 1714.
In 1712, he sold the estates in Chelsea to Sir Hans Sloane. Cheyne Walk
Cheyne Walk is an historic road in Chelsea, London, England, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It runs parallel with the River Thames. Before the construction of Chelsea Embankment reduced the width of the Thames here, it fronted ...
was named after him
After he died, without heir, in 1728 he was buried in Drayton Beauchamp
Drayton Beauchamp (pronounced 'Beecham') is a village and civil parish within Aylesbury Vale district in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the east of the county bordering Hertfordshire, about six miles from Aylesbury and two miles from Tring.
...
in Buckinghamshire.St Mary's History
/ref> He was the last of the Cheyne family after whom Chenies
Chenies is a village and civil parish in south-east Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the border with Hertfordshire, east of Amersham and north of Chorleywood.
History
Until the 13th century, the village name was Isenhampstead. There were two ...
in Buckinghamshire is named.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newhaven, William Cheyne, 2nd Viscount
1657 births
1728 deaths
Lord-Lieutenants of Buckinghamshire
Viscounts in the Peerage of Scotland
English MPs 1681
English MPs 1685–1687
English MPs 1689–1690
English MPs 1690–1695
English MPs 1695–1698
English MPs 1698–1700
English MPs 1701
English MPs 1701–1702
English MPs 1702–1705
English MPs 1705–1707