Walter Plumer (c. 1682–1746), of Cavendish Square and Chediston Hall, Suffolk, was a British 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. ...

between 1719 and 1741.

Early life

Plumer was the eldest surviving son of John Plumer, a wealthy London merchant of Blakesware, Hertfordshire, and his wife Mary Hale, daughter of William Hale of King's Walden, Hertfordshire. He had brothers

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Frankish language, Old Frankish and is a Compound (linguistics), compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language, Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' an ...

and

William Plumer William Plumer (June 25, 1759December 22, 1850) was an American lawyer, Baptist lay preacher, and politician from Epping, New Hampshire. He is most notable for his service as a Federalist in the United States Senate (1802–1807), and the sevent ...

who were also in Parliament. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

in 1698 and was admitted at

Peterhouse, Cambridge Peterhouse is the oldest constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England, founded in 1284 by Hugh de Balsham, Bishop of Ely. Today, Peterhouse has 254 undergraduates, 116 full-time graduate students and 54 fellows. It is quite ...

on 26 April 1699, aged 16. In 1702, he was admitted at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

. He married Elizabeth Hanbury, daughter of Thomas Hanbury of Kelmarsh, Northamptonshire. He succeeded to his father's estates in Berkshire, Essex and Middlesex in 1719. In 1722 he acquired the estate of Chediston Hall in Suffolk.

Career

Plumer was elected with government support as

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

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

on 3 December 1719, after spending money liberally against the opposing interest of Lord Strafford. Soon after taking his seat he spoke in support of the

Peerage Bill {{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whigs (British political party), Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland whic ...

, and continued to support the Government for the rest of that Parliament. He was returned unopposed at the 1722 general election but subsequently spoke against the Government on the army estimates. In 1725 he was appointed to a committee drawing up the articles for the impeachment of Lord Macclesfield, and became one of the managers of the case. Plumer lost the government interest for

and did not stand at the 1727 general election.

Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet Sackville Tufton, 7th Earl of Thanet (11 May 1688 – 4 December 1753) of Newbottle, Northamptonshire, known as Sackville Tufton until 1729, was a British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 until 1729 when he succeeded to t ...

brought him in as MP for Appleby at a by-election on 24 January 1730. He became one of the leading spokesmen of the opposition Whigs, and was actively engaged in securing the repeal of the salt duty in 1730 and in opposing its re-imposition in 1732. He was one of the more moderate members of his party and rather than insisting on the formal rejection of the excise bill, he felt their end had been met by the dropping of the bill, and thought Walpole had incurred mortification enough. In the ballot for a committee on frauds in the customs, he obtained more votes than any other opposition Member. He was returned again for Appleby at the 1734 general election. He supported the nonconformists and moved for the repeal of the

Test Act The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and nonconformists. The underlying principle was that only people taking communion in t ...

in 1736 and made his last recorded speech on the subject in 1739. He retired from Parliament at the 1741 general election.

Death and legacy

Plumer died without issue on 2 March 1746 and was buried at Eastwick, Hertfordshire. His estates passed to his brother William.

References

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Plumer, Walter 1680s births 1746 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Peterhouse, Cambridge Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741