Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of Dysart FRS (21 October 1739 – 9 March 1821), known from 1739 to 1799 as Hon. Wilbraham Tollemache, was a British 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 1771 to 1784. Anna Maria Tollemache, by Joshua Reynolds

Tollemache was a younger son of

Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart Lionel Tollemache, 4th Earl of Dysart KT (1 May 1708 – 10 March 1770), styled Lord Huntingtower from 1712 to 1727, was a nobleman from East Anglia, who bore a Scottish title. Lionel's father, a namesake in 1712 predeceased his father Lionel ...

. He originally served in the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...

, and then in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

, retiring in 1775 as a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the 6th Regiment of Foot. He first entered the

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

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

in 1771. On 4 February 1773, he married Anna Maria Lewis, but had no children. He continued to sit for Northampton until 1780, and then represented

Liskeard Liskeard ( ; kw, Lyskerrys) is a small ancient stannary and market town in south-east Cornwall, South West England. It is situated approximately 20 miles (32 km) west of Plymouth, west of the Devon border, and 12 miles (20 km) eas ...

until 1784. He was

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

in 1785, and later

High Steward of Ipswich This is a list of people who have served as High Steward (civic), High Steward of Ipswich in Suffolk. * 1557-1580: William Cordell, Sir William Cordell * 1581-1590: Francis Walsingham, Sir Francis Walsingham * 1590-1596: Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hun ...

, like his elder brother. He inherited the earldom and the accompanying estates from his childless elder brother, Lionel, at the age of sixty in 1799. One of his first acts was to purchase the manor of

Canbury Canbury is a district of the northern part of Kingston upon Thames that takes its name from the historic manor that covered the area. Modern Canbury comprises two electoral wards in the constituency of Richmond Park; Canbury Ward to the south ...

from

George Hardinge George Hardinge (1743–1816) was an English judge, writer and Member of Parliament. Life He was born on 22 June (new style) 1743 at Canbury, a manorhouse in Kingston upon Thames. He was the third but eldest surviving son of Nicholas Harding ...

, bringing the area back into the family. Wilbraham carried out a programme of improvements at

Ham House Ham House is a 17th-century house set in formal gardens on the bank of the River Thames in Ham, south of Richmond in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. The original house was completed in 1610 by Thomas Vavasour, an Elizabethan cou ...

, including the creation of the Yellow Satin Bedroom, demolishing part of the northern wall and opening the view of the house to the river, relocating the busts of Roman Emperors to niches in the house wall, creating the

ha-ha A ha-ha (french: hâ-hâ or ), also known as a sunk fence, blind fence, ditch and fence, deer wall, or foss, is a recessed landscape design element that creates a vertical barrier (particularly on one side) while preserving an uninterrupted view ...

s and the addition of the Coade stone statues. Wilbraham was a collector of art and was an early patron of

John Constable John Constable (; 11 June 1776 – 31 March 1837) was an English landscape painter in the Romanticism, Romantic tradition. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for revolutionising the genre of landscape painting with his pictures of Dedha ...

. Tollemache was also a patron of

Reynolds Reynolds may refer to: Places Australia *Hundred of Reynolds, a cadastral unit in South Australia *Hundred of Reynolds (Northern Territory), a cadastral unit in the Northern Territory of Australia United States * Reynolds, Mendocino County, Calif ...

and

Gainsborough Gainsborough or Gainsboro may refer to: Places * Gainsborough, Ipswich, Suffolk, England ** Gainsborough Ward, Ipswich * Gainsborough, Lincolnshire, a town in England ** Gainsborough (UK Parliament constituency) * Gainsborough, New South Wales, ...

. The historian Evelyn Pritctard describes him as "a different character from the three previous earls – cultivated, humane, generous, with polished manners, treating his dependents and servants extremely well". Dysart died without children. All five sons of the 4th Earl were dead, and there were no grandsons. The Tollemache baronetcy, therefore, became extinct, while the Earldom of Dysart passed to his sister Lady Louisa Manners. The estates were divided between Louisa and her younger sister, Lady Jane Halliday, with Jane receiving Helmingham, Suffolk, Cheshire and Northants, whilst Louisa inherited Ham House and the surrounding estates in Ham, Petersham and Canbury. Both families took the name of Tollemache.

References

Sources

;Attribution * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dysart, Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl of 1739 births 1821 deaths Tollemache, Wilbraham Tollemache, Wilbraham Tollemache, Wilbraham Earls of Dysart Fellows of the Royal Society High Sheriffs of Cheshire Tollemache, Wilbraham Tollemache, Wilbraham People from Ham, London Royal Navy officers Royal Warwickshire Fusiliers officers Wilbraham Tollemache, 6th Earl Dysart British art collectors 19th-century art collectors