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Sir William Harbord, 1st Baronet (c. 1696 – 17 February 1770), of Gunton and
In 1742, Morden inherited the Norfolk properties of his mother's brother
Sir William Harbord, 1st Baronet (c. 1696 – 17 February 1770), of Gunton and Suffield, Norfolk
Suffield is a village and a civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is south of Cromer, north of Norwich and north of London. The village lies east of the A140 between Cromer and Norwich. The nearest railway station is at G ...
, was an English 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. ...
from between 1734 and 1754.
Early life
Harbord was born William Morden, the eldest son of John Morden of Suffield and his wife Judith Cropley, daughter of William Cropley ofShelland
Shelland is a small village and civil parish located just off the A14, 4 miles west of Stowmarket in Suffolk, England.
Shelland consists of roughly 10 houses, a church and Shelland Green. At the 2001 census, the village had a population of 39. ...
in Suffolk. He went to school in Thurlow and Bury St Edmunds
Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market town, market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – ...
before being admitted at Caius College, Cambridge
Gonville and Caius College, often referred to simply as Caius ( ), is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1348, it is the fourth-oldest of the University of Cambridge's 31 colleges and one of th ...
on 4 February 1713 aged 16. In 1716, he was admitted at 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 ...
. He succeeded his father to the Suffield estate in 1726. He married Elizabeth Britiffe, daughter of Robert Britiffe, Recorder
Recorder or The Recorder may refer to:
Newspapers
* ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper
* ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US
* ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...
of Norwich
Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
on 25 April 1732.
Career
As Morden, he was returned unopposed asMember 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 Bere Alston
Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers.
History and geography
With a population of about 2,000, the village lies in the Bere peninsula, between the rivers ...
by his neighbour Sir John Hobart, 5th Baronet at a by-election on 5 February 1734. At the 1734 British general election
The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...
with the heavy financial backing of Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...
, he stood and lost at Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
. He was returned unopposed as MP for Dunwich
Dunwich is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast.
In the Anglo-Saxon period, Dunwich was t ...
at a by-election on 21 February 1738. At the 1741 British general election
The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...
he went back to Bere Alston where he was returned unopposed.
In 1742, Morden inherited the Norfolk properties of his mother's brother Harbord Harbord
Harbord Harbord (possibly 1675 – 28 January 1742) was an East Anglian landowner and Member of Parliament. He was known as Harbord Cropley from his birth until 1710.
Life
He was the eldest son of Colonel William Cropley of Shelland in Suffolk. ...
, and assumed the surname Harbord in place of that of Morden by royal licence to meet the will's conditions. In the 1740s he began the construction of Gunton Hall
Gunton Hall, Gunton Park, is a large country house near Suffield in Norfolk.
History
The estate belonged to the Gunton family in the 12th century, to the Berney family in the 16th century and later to the Jermyn family. The current house was bu ...
designed by the architect Matthew Brettingham
Matthew Brettingham (1699 – 19 August 1769), sometimes called Matthew Brettingham the Elder, was an 18th-century Englishman who rose from humble origins to supervise the construction of Holkham Hall, and become one of the country's best-known ...
. He was made a Knight Companion of the Order of the Bath on 28 May 1744 and 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 ...
on 22 March 1746. He was returned unopposed again at the 1747 British general election
The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Henr ...
. He voted consistently for the Government. He retired at the 1754 British general election
The 1754 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707.
Owing to the exten ...
.
Death and legacy
Harbord died on 17 February 1770, leaving two sons. His eldest son Harbord (1734–1810) succeeded to the baronetcy.References