Thomas Cartwright (1671–1748), of Aynho Park, Northamptonshire was an English landowner and Tory politician, who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1748. As the longest serving Member he eventually became Father of the House.

Early life

Cartwright was the only surviving son of William Cartwright, of Aynho in Northamptonshire and

Bloxham Bloxham is a village and civil parish in northern Oxfordshire several miles from the Cotswolds, about southwest of Banbury. It is on the edge of a valley and overlooked by Hobb Hill. The village is on the A361 road. The 2011 Census recorded ...

in Oxfordshire, and his wife Ursula Fairfax, daughter of

Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron Ferdinando Fairfax, 2nd Lord Fairfax of Cameron MP (29 March 1584 – 14 March 1648) was an English nobleman and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1614 and 1648. He was a commander in the Parliamentary army in ...

. In 1676, he succeeded both his father and grandfather. He was admitted to St Catharine's College, Cambridge in 1687 where

Samuel Bradford Samuel Bradford (20 December 1652 – 17 May 1731) was an English churchman and whig, bishop successively of Carlisle and Rochester. Life He was the son of William Bradford of London and was born in St. Anne's, Blackfriars. He was educated at ...

was his tutor.

Career

Cartwright served as

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respo ...

in 1693. He 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 o ...

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 ...

in an expensive contest 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 ...

. Lord Charles Spencer was a Whig candidate, but fortunately his father

Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland Robert Spencer, 2nd Earl of Sunderland, (5 September 164128 September 1702) was an English nobleman and politician of the Spencer family. An able and gifted statesman, his caustic temper and belief in absolute monarchy nevertheless made him nu ...

baulked at the required expenditure. Cartwright was then defeated at the 1698 English general election. He served as

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much olde ...

in 1699. He did not stand at the first general election of 1701 but in the second general election of 1701 he was returned after accepting a pact with Sir Justinian Isham, 4th Baronet that he had previously declined. He voted on 26 February 1702 for the resolution to vindicate the Commons’ proceedings in the impeaching the King's ministers. He was returned again at the 1702 English general election but was absent from the House for some time because he had sprained his foot badly in a hunting accident. He was absent at the division on the Tack and was subsequently listed 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 pre ...

he was returned in a contest again with Isham. He voted against the Court candidate for Speaker. He was returned unopposed 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 ...

but was not an active Member. He voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He was returned unopposed again at the 1710 British general election and was listed as one of the ‘worthy patriots’ who approved the exposure of the previous ministry's mismanagements, and as a ‘Tory patriot’ who voted for peace in 1711 . He also became a member of 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 ('' ...

. In the period 1707 to 1711, Cartwright had

Aynhoe Park Aynhoe Park, is a 17th-century country estate consisting of land and buildings that were rebuilt after the English Civil War on the southern edge of the stone-built village of Aynho, Northamptonshire, England. It overlooks the Cherwell valley tha ...

remodelled. The work is attributed to

Thomas Archer Thomas Archer (1668–1743) was an English Baroque architect, whose work is somewhat overshadowed by that of his contemporaries Sir John Vanbrugh and Nicholas Hawksmoor. His buildings are important as the only ones by an English Baroque archit ...

, on grounds of style. In 1711 the scholar

Joseph Wasse Joseph Wasse (1672–1738) was an English cleric and classical scholar. Life He was born in Yorkshire, and entered Queens' College, Cambridge as a sizar in 1691. He became bible clerk in 1694, scholar in 1695, was B.A. in 1694, fellow and M.A. in ...

came to be rector of Aynho, on the death of Matthew Hutton; in a letter to Jean Le Clerc he praised the library of Cartwright's wife Armine . Cartwright went frequently to Bath where he was in the company of leading Tory families - the Harleys, the Foleys and the Winningtons. Cartwright was returned again for Northamptonshire at the 1713 British general election. He was classed as a Tory who sometimes voted with the Whigs. In 1714 his main parliamentary action was supervising the passage of a bill on the navigation of the Nene. He was returned again 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 against the Administration. In 1716, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemat ...

. He was returned again as MP for Northamptonshire 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. Th ...

. From 1723 to 1725 he commissioned Edward Wing to rebuild the parish church at Aynho, apart from the tower and was also a donor to the

Fenny Stratford Fenny Stratford is a constituent town of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England and in the Civil Parish of Bletchley and Fenny Stratford. Originally an independent town, it was included in the Milton Keynes " designated area" in 1967. From 189 ...

church, as commemorated on its ceiling. He was returned again for Northamptonshire at the general elections of

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

, 1734 and

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a speech ...

. Cartwright died on 10 March 1748, aged 77, and was buried at Aynho.

Family

Cartwright in 1699 married Armine Crew, daughter of

Thomas Crew, 2nd Baron Crew Thomas Crew, 2nd Baron Crew (1624 – 30 November 1697) of Steane, Northamptonshire was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1679, when he inherited the peerage Baron Crew. Life Crew ...

. They had two sons and three daughters. William Cartwright (died 1768) the Northamptionshire MP was their elder son. William Ralph Cartwright was a great-grandson. Cartwright's sister Rhoda married Lord Henry Cavendish.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Thomas 1671 births 1748 deaths Tory members of the Parliament of Great Britain Fellows of the Royal Society People from Aynho High Sheriffs of Oxfordshire High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 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 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754