Henry Hyde, Viscount Cornbury
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Henry Hyde, Viscount Cornbury (28 November 1710 – 28 May 1753), styled Viscount Hyde from 1711 until 1723 and Viscount Cornbury thereafter, also 5th Baron Hyde in his own right, was a British author and politician who sat in the
House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...
from 1732 until 1750 when he was raised to the House of Lords by writ of acceleration. He was involved in Jacobite intrigues in the early 1730s.


Early life

Hyde was the only surviving son of
Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon Henry Hyde, 4th Earl of Clarendon and 2nd Earl of Rochester, Privy Council of Great Britain, PC (June 1672 – 10 December 1753), styled Lord Hyde from 1682 to 1711, was an English Army officer and Tory politician who sat in the English House of ...
and his wife Jane Leveson-Gower, daughter of
Sir William Leveson-Gower, 4th Baronet Sir William Leveson-Gower, 4th Baronet (c. 1647 – 22 December 1691) was an England, English politician from the Leveson-Gower family. Born William Gower, he was the second son of Sir Thomas Gower, 2nd Baronet and Frances, daughter and coheir o ...
, of Stittenham. He matriculated at
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on 21 May 1725, from which he received a DCL on 6 December 1728. He was an author of some talent, and both
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and
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praised his character.


Career

Cornbury involved himself in a Jacobite intrigue and went with James II's daughter, the Duchess of Buckingham, to Rome to meet the Pretender secretly in January 1731. He was returned as a
Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
Member of Parliament for
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, at a by-election on 26 February 1732. Walpole's
Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Excise officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...
of 1733 provoked great political unrest, and Cornbury thought the time right for a French-sponsored invasion by the
Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until ...
. He was able to persuade Chavigny, the French ambassador to Britain, and Chauvelin, the French
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, to endorse an invasion of southern England, which, Cornbury claimed, would result in a Jacobite rising in the country and the overthrow of the
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s. However, the scheme was quashed in the royal cabinet by Cardinal Fleury, and Chavigny, some of whose activities had come to the attention of the British government, was recalled. Thereafter, Cornbury avoided Jacobite politics and devoted himself to the cultivation of taste. Cornbury was returned unopposed at the
1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...
. He was active in his university's campaign against the mortmain bill of 1736, which would restrict the number of livings owned by charitable bodies and also restrict bequests of lands to them. In 1737 and 1738 he spoke against the army. At the
1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...
he was again returned unopposed for the University. In April 1742 he was offered a peerage, on Pulteney's recommendation, but refused it. He was absent at the division on the Hanoverian troops in November 1742, spoke for the Address in December 1743 and spoke for the Hanoverians in January 1744. He supported the loyal address on a threatened French invasion in February 1744. During the 1745 Jacobite rebellion, he voted against the government on the matter of recalling British troops from Flanders. He also opposed sending foreign troops to Scotland. In 1746, he voted against the Government on the Hanoverians . After being returned unopposed at the
1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Hen ...
he became disillusioned by the House of Commons, and took a year abroad for the sake of his health. He also sold property to pay his debts. In 1750, he applied to the King for a peerage and he was elevated to the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
by a writ in acceleration in his father's title of Baron Hyde. He vacated his seat in the House of Commons.


Death and legacy

Cornbury died unmarried in
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on 26 April 1753, predeceasing his father by six months; accounts differ on whether he died from a fall from a horse or by his own hand.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cornbury, Henry Hyde, Viscount 1710 births 1753 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Hyde, Henry Hyde, 5th Baron British courtesy viscounts Heirs apparent who never acceded English Jacobites Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Tory MPs (pre-1834) Henry Hyde, Viscount Cornbury Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Oxford University British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754