Sir ''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 p ...

William Whitelock KC (27 December 1636 – 22 November 1717) was an English

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

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. His name is also spelt Whitelocke (which was preferred by his father) and Whitlock. Phyllis Court (geograph 4740585)

Early life

Whitelock was the second son of Sir Bulstrode Whitelocke (1605–1675), parliamentarian and one of

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

's Commissioners of the Great Seal of England. He was the first son of his father's second wife, Frances Willoughby (died 1649), a daughter of

William Willoughby, 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham William Willoughby, 3rd Baron Willoughby of Parham (1584 – 28 August 1617) was an English peer. He was born in Knaith, England, the son of William Willoughby and Elizabeth Hilyard. He inherited his title in 1603 from his grandfather, Charles Wi ...

. As a young man Whitelock joined 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 1647 and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1655. He married, in 1671, Mary Overbury, the daughter of Sir Thomas Overbury of Bourton on the Hill, Gloucestershire.

Parliamentary career

In 1659 Whitelock was elected to the short-lived

Third Protectorate Parliament The Third Protectorate Parliament sat for one session, from 27 January 1659 until 22 April 1659, with Chaloner Chute and Thomas Bampfylde as the Speakers of the House of Commons. It was a bicameral Parliament, with an Upper House having a powe ...

called by

Richard Cromwell Richard Cromwell (4 October 162612 July 1712) was an English statesman who was the second and last Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland and son of the first Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell. On his father's death ...

, but sat for only one session, from 27 January to 22 April 1659, as one of the two members of parliament for Westlow in Cornwall. After Cromwell had dissolved this parliament in April, he recalled the earlier

Rump Parliament The Rump Parliament was the English Parliament after Colonel Thomas Pride commanded soldiers to purge the Long Parliament, on 6 December 1648, of those members hostile to the Grandees' intention to try King Charles I for high treason. "Rump" n ...

, in which Whitelock was not a member. In 1660 the Commonwealth collapsed, and the

House of Stuart The House of Stuart, originally spelt Stewart, was a royal house of Scotland, England, Ireland and later Great Britain. The family name comes from the office of High Steward of Scotland, which had been held by the family progenitor Walter fi ...

was

restored ''Restored'' is the fourth studio album by American contemporary Christian music musician Jeremy Camp. It was released on November 16, 2004 by BEC Recordings. Track listing Standard release Enhanced edition Deluxe gold edition Standard ...

. He succeeded his father at Phillis Court,

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buc ...

, Oxfordshire, in 1675. Whitelock did not return to parliament until shortly after the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

. He was appointed a King's Counsel to William of Orange in 1689 until 1695, and was knighted on 10 April 1689. In December 1689 he won the by-election at

Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parishes in England, civil parish within Wycombe district in the England, English county of Buckinghamshire, lying north of the town of Marlow, Buckinghamshire, Marlow and south of High Wycombe. The parish includes the Ha ...

caused by the death of

John Hoby John Hoby (c.1668-89), of Bisham Abbey, Berkshire, was an English Member of Parliament. He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Great Marlow Great Marlow is a civil parish within Wycombe district in the English county of Buckingh ...

, becoming one of the borough's two Members in the

House of Commons of England 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 ...

. A few months later, at the general election of 1690, he was elected for Great Marlow again and sat for it until the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act of 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ...

. In 1702 he was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

for Queen Anne.

Humphry William Woolrych Humphry William Woolrych (1795–1871) was an English lawyer, known as a legal writer and biographer. Life He was the son of Humphry Cornewall Woolrych and Elizabeth, elder daughter of William Bentley of Red Lion Square, London, and was born at S ...

, ''Eminent Serjeants-at-law of the English bar'' (vol. I, 1869)
p. 381
/ref> At a by-election on 22 November 1703 caused by the departure of Heneage Finch for the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, Whitelock was elected to represent the

High Tory In the United Kingdom and elsewhere, High Toryism is the old traditionalist conservatism which is in line with the Toryism originating in the 17th century. High Tories and their worldview are sometimes at odds with the modernising elements of the ...

constituency of the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

. After the

Union of England and Scotland 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 ...

in 1707, he continued to represent the University in the enlarged

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

. He was returned again 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 ...

and 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. ...

. 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 ...

Whitlocke was returned unopposed for the University of Oxford, and described as ‘a recognised Jacobite’ in the list of that Parliament drawn up for George I. He was also described as being well heard by the House of Commons, ‘car il ne manque jamais de faire rire’ (because he never fails to raise a laugh). He spoke against the Address in March 1715. In August with Shippen, Sir William Wyndham, and John Hungerford he was one of the only Tory speakers against the impeachment of the late Tory ministers. He also spoke against the septennial bill in April 1716.

Later life and legacy

Whitelock died at Phillis Court on 22 November 1717 and was buried at

Fawley, Buckinghamshire Fawley is a village and civil parish in Wycombe district in the south-western corner of Buckinghamshire, England. It is on the boundary between Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire, about seven miles west of Great Marlow and north of Henley-on-Thames. ...

, the principal family estate. He left five sons and eight daughters. His death was reported as follows: Whitelock was an extreme Tory, and fond of old fashions. On one occasion, he was speaking in the House of Commons and said "as black as – ", to be interrupted by an opponent with "your shoe-strings!" Whitelock replied "Sir, I remember when there were more shoe-strings and fewer coxcombs in this assembly!" On another occasion, in 1714, Whitelock began a speech in the Commons with a reference to the

Elector of Hanover The Electorate of Hanover (german: Kurfürstentum Hannover or simply ''Kurhannover'') was an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire, located in northwestern Germany and taking its name from the capital city of Hanover. It was formally known as ...

: "If he ever comes to the throne, which I hope he never will..." This was met with angry shouts from the Whigs and by demands for him to take his words back. Whitelock replied calmly that Queen Anne was younger than her appointed heir and that he hoped she would outlive him.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitelock, William 1636 births 1717 deaths Members of the Middle Temple English King's Counsel Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of England for the University of Oxford English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Oxford University British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 Knights Bachelor