Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet (11 August 1658 – 13 May 1730) was an English landowner and Tory 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. ...

almost continuously from 1685 until his death in 1730. He was the longest serving member, later termed

Father of the House Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...

, from 1729 to 1730.

Early life

Justinian Isham II was born on 11 August 1658 to Sir Justinian Isham, 2nd Baronet of Lamport, and his wife Vere Leigh, the daughter of Thomas Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh of

Stoneleigh, Warwickshire Stoneleigh is a small village in Warwickshire, England, on the River Sowe, situated 4.5 miles (7.25 km) south of Coventry and 5.5 miles (9 km) north of Leamington Spa. The population taken at the 2011 census was 3,636. The ...

. He matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1674, but did not take a degree. and was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1677. He succeeded unexpectedly to the baronetcy of Lamport and

Lamport Hall Lamport Hall in Lamport, Northamptonshire is a fine example of a Grade I Listed House. It was developed from a Tudor Manor but is now notable for its classical frontage. The Hall contains an outstanding collection of books, paintings and furnitu ...

, Northamptonshire on 26 July 1681 with the sudden death of his brother Sir Thomas Isham from

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

. He married, on 16 July 1683, in

Stoke Rochford Stoke Rochford is a small English village and civil parish south of Grantham in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire. The population at the time of the 2011 census was 230 (including Easton, Lincolnshire, Easton). It has two notable Grad ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, Elizabeth Turnor (1666-1713), the only daughter of Sir Edmund Turnor (1619-1707) of

Stoke Rochford Hall Stoke Rochford Hall is a large house built in scenic grounds, with a nearby golf course, next to the A1 in south Lincolnshire, England. The parkland and gardens of Stoke Rochford Hall are listed Grade II* on the Register of Historic Parks and ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

, and his wife Margaret Harrison (1623-1679), the daughter of Sir John Harrison (1589-1669).Brainard (1938), p. 62-63. Lamport - geograph

Career

Isham was returned 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

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; ...

at the

1685 English general election The 1685 English general election elected the only parliament of James II of England, known as the Loyal Parliament. This was the first time the pejorative words Whig and Tory were used as names for political groupings in the Parliament of Englan ...

. He was returned again at the

1689 English general election The 1689 English general election, held in January 1689, elected the Convention Parliament (1689), Convention Parliament, which was summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution. 513 Members of Parliament were returned, across 53 counties ...

, but was defeated at the

1690 English general election The 1690 English general election occurred after the dissolution of the Convention Parliament summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution, and saw the partisan feuds in that parliament continue in the constituencies. The Tories made signi ...

. He was returned unopposed, through an electoral pact, for Northampton at a by-election on 9 March 1694 and was returned again at 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 ...

. He was ready to stand again for the borough at the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' sup ...

, but with four days notice, he was called upon by the local gentry to stand for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. Although not prepared to put himself out because of the short notice, he was returned in a contest as MP for Northamptonshire. He was classed as Country Party but was frequently absent from Parliament, probably for domestic reasons. He was returned again at the first general election of 1701, and was blacklisted for opposing the preparations for war. He was returned again at the second general election of 1701 and in 1702 supported the motion vindicating the Commons’ late proceedings in impeaching the Whig ministers. He topped the poll at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Britis ...

. He did not vote for the Tack on 28 November 1704 and was identified as a 'sneaker'. At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of " Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pr ...

he was returned in another contest for Northamptonshire at the top of the poll, despite a lackluster campaign. He voted against the Court candidate for the Speaker and in support of his cousin, William Bromley on 25 September 1705. 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 ...

he was returned unopposed as Tory MP for Nothamptonshire. Domesticity and ill-health led to absence from Parliament, but he was able to vote against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He was returned unopposed again 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. ...

and was listed in April 1711 as a ‘Tory patriot’ who voted for the peace, and as a ‘worthy patriot’ who helped expose the mismanagements of the previous administration. He also appears to have played a part in organizing the

October Club The October Club was a group of Tory Members of Parliament, established after the 1710 general election. The Club was active until approximately 1714. The group took its name from the strong ale they reportedly drank.Pat Rogers, �October Club (' ...

. By 1713 he was suffering from gout but his wife was seriously ill, and died in August 1713. Isham was returned unopposed for Northamptonshire again, but after the shattering blow to his domestic contentment, was in severe depression for a year. He finally returned to public life in August 1714. Isham was returned again for Northamaptonshire 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 ...

and from then on voted consistently with the opposition. He was returned again at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

and at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

Death and legacy

Isham died on 13 May 1730 at 72 years of age and was buried at Lamport next to his wife who had predeceased him by several years. They had several children, ten of whom survived, including the three sons listed below. * Sir Justinian Isham (1687-1737), who succeed his father as the 5th Baronet of Lamport * Sir Edmund Isham (1690-1772), who became the 6th Baronet of Lamport upon the death of his brother *

Euseby Isham Rev. Euseby Isham, D.D. (6 November 1697 – 17 June 1755) was an English academic administrator at the University of Oxford. Isham was born probably at Lamport Hall in Northamptonshire, to Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet (1658-1730), of Lampo ...

(1697-1755), who became the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

. There is a painting of Ishamattributed to

Michael Dahl Michael Dahl (1659–1743) was a Swedish portrait painter who lived and worked in England most of his career and died there. He was one of the most internationally known Swedish painters of his time. He painted portraits of many aristocrats and s ...

that hangs at

, together with another by

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723), was the leading portrait painter in England during the late 17th and early 18th centuries, and was court painter to Kingdom of England, English and Br ...

Notes

References

* Brainard, Homer Worthington (1938), ''A survey of the Ishams in England and America; eight hundred and fifty years of history and genealogy,'' Tuttle publishing company, inc., Rutland, Vt, 672 p. * Hayton, D., Cruickshanks, E. and Handley, S. (2002), The

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in w ...

: the House of Commons 1690-1715, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 5 vol. The biography fo
Isham, Sir Justinian, 4th Bt.
is available online a
The History of Parliament
accessed 10 April 2013.

External links

Portrait of Sir Justinian Isham by Michael Dahl

Portrait of Sir Justinian Isham by Godfrey Kneller
{{DEFAULTSORT:Isham II, Sir Justinians 1658 births 1730 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn Baronets in the Baronetage of England 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 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734