Thomas Brodrick (4 August 1654 – 3 October 1730) was an Irish and British politician who sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

between 1692 and 1727 and also in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

from 1713 to 1727. He owned lands in both Surrey in England, and County Cork, Ireland.

Life

Brodrick was the eldest son of Sir St John Brodrick of Ballyannan,

Midleton Midleton (; , meaning "monastery at the weir") is a town in south-eastern County Cork, Ireland. It lies approximately 16 km east of Cork City on the Owenacurra River and the N25 road, which connects Cork to the port of Rosslare. A satellit ...

, County Cork and his wife Alice Clayton, daughter of Laurence Clayton of Mallow, County Cork. He was admitted at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

and also 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 ...

in 1670. He received an LLB in 1677. He inherited lands at

Wandsworth Wandsworth Town () is a district of south London, within the London Borough of Wandsworth southwest of Charing Cross. The area is identified in the London Plan The London Plan is the statutory spatial development strategy for the Gre ...

in 1680, and received a settlement of some of the family's Irish lands upon marrying. Brodrick sat in the

for

from 1692 to 1693, for

County Cork County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

from 1695 to 1699 and again from 1703 to 1713, and for Midleton again from 1715 to 1727. He was appointed to the

Irish Privy Council His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

in 1695, removed by the Tory administration in 1711 but reappointed in 1714. Brodrick lived more in England than Ireland in his adult years. He had contacts with Whig politicians in England and was appointed Comptroller of the Salt in 1706, and joint comptroller of army accounts from 1708 to 1711. He was elected 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 Stockbridge at the 1713 general election and again at the 1715 general election. At the 1722 general election, he was elected as MP for

Guildford Guildford () is a town in west Surrey, around southwest of central London. As of the 2011 census, the town has a population of about 77,000 and is the seat of the wider Borough of Guildford, which had around inhabitants in . The name "Guildf ...

. He did not stand in the 1727 general election. Dean Jonathan Swift referred to him in connection with his political activities at least twice in his writings.

Personal life

Brodrick died on 3 October 1730 at the family estate at Wandsworth, and was buried there. He was brother of

Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount Midleton Alan Brodrick, 1st Viscount Midleton, PC (Ire) (c. 1656 – 29 August 1728) was a leading Irish lawyer and politician who sat in the Parliament of Ireland between 1692 and 1715 and in the British House of Commons from 1717 to 1728. He was Speake ...

. He married Anne Piggott, daughter of Alexander Piggott of

Innishannon Innishannon or Inishannon () is a large village on the main Cork (city), Cork–Bandon, County Cork, Bandon road (N71 road (Ireland), N71) in County Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on the River Bandon, the village has grown d ...

and they had one son, Laurence, who was appointed Register of Deeds and Conveyances in Ireland in 1735.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brodrick, Thomas 1654 births Politicians from County Cork Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Irish MPs 1692–1693 Irish MPs 1695–1699 Irish MPs 1703–1713 Irish MPs 1715–1727 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland 1730 deaths