Thomas Freke (17 January 1660 – 1721), of Hannington,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

, was an English Whig 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 1685 and 1710. Freke was the eldest son of Thomas Freke of Hinton St. Mary, Dorset and his second wife Elizabeth Clarke, daughter of Sir William Clarke of Ford Place, Wrotham, Kent. He matriculated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

on 19 March 1675, aged 15 and was also admitted at the

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 ...

in 1675. He married Elizabeth Pile, the daughter and coheiress of Thomas Pile of Baverstock, Wiltshire on 10 October 1683. He succeeded his great-uncle to Hannington Hall in 1684. Freke 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

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

in a double return 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 ...

and was allowed to sit until 10 June 1685 when it was resolved against him. At the 1689 English general election he was defeated in the poll at Cricklade, but was seated on petition on 5 April 1689. He was returned as MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis at a by election on 22 May 1691 and was returned again at the 1698 English general election. He declined to stand in 1701 for various reasons, including the disruption to his domestic life. Later, in 1701, his wife inherited the Shroton estates of another Thomas Freke and he took up residence there. He was undecided where to stand for Parliament again until 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 ...

when he was returned unopposed as MP for

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Heri ...

. He voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. He was returned as a Whig for Lyme Regis in a contest 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 voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He retired from Parliament at the 1710 British general election. Freke's wife, Elizabeth, died in 1714, and he married as his second wife, in December 1718, Mary Corbett. He died without issue in 1721 and the Hannington estate passed to his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, the Socinian author.

References

1660 births 1721 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Cricklade {{18thC-England-MP-stub