John Berkeley, 4th Viscount Fitzhardinge of Bruton, Somerset (1650 – 19 December 1712) was an English courtier, treasury official, army officer and politician who sat in the English and

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 memb ...

from 1690 to 1710.

Early life

Berkeley was the second surviving son of

Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge Charles Berkeley, 2nd Viscount Fitzhardinge (14 December 1599 – 12 June 1668) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1668. He supported the Cavaliers, Royalist ca ...

and his wife Penelope Godolphin, daughter of Sir William Godolphin, MP, of Godolphin, Cornwall. His father and brothers were active in the Royal service after the Restoration, and Berkeley himself was a Page of Honour to King Charles II from 1668 to 1672. His brother

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

was granted the Irish peerage of Lord Fitzhardinge, which passed to his father and thence to John's elder brother Maurice.

Career

Berkeley joined the Army in 1673 as an ensign in Lord Le Power's Foot. He became a captain in the 1st Foot Guards in 1675 and a lieutenant-colonel in Colonel Edward Villiers’ Foot in 1678. He was Master of Horse to Princess Anne from 1685 to 1702. He fought at the

Battle of Sedgemoor The Battle of Sedgemoor was the last and decisive engagement between forces loyal to James II and rebels led by the Duke of Monmouth during the Monmouth rebellion, fought on 6 July 1685, and took place at Westonzoyland near Bridgwater in S ...

in 1685 and was made colonel of his own regiment of Dragoons (later the 4th Queen's Own Hussars) from 1685 to 1688 and from 1688 to 1693. He was promoted brigadier-general in 1690. He sometime married Barbara, the daughter of Sir Edward Villiers, Knight Marshal of the Royal Household. In 1690 Berkeley inherited the Irish peerage from his brother Maurice. After inheriting the family seat at

Bruton Bruton ( ) is a small market town, and civil parish in Somerset, England, on the River Brue and the A359 between Frome and Yeovil. It is south-east of Shepton Mallet, just south of Snakelake Hill and Coombe Hill, north-west of Gillingham ...

, Somerset he was made Custos Rotulorum of Somerset from 1690 to his death. He was returned as Member of Parliament for Hindon at a by-election on 20 April 1691. He was appointed to two committees dealing with expenditure on the army in November 1691, and was nominated a member of a conference committee on the mutiny bill in February 1692. After two years as Governor of Kinsale from 1692 to 1693, he was appointed Teller of the Receipt of the Exchequer for life in 1694. At the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ov ...

he was returned unopposed as MP for Windsor as a Court supporter. He signed the Association in February, and voted for fixing the price of guineas at 22 shillings in March 1696. 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' su ...

, he was returned again as MP for Windsor. He voted against the third reading of the disbanding bill on 31 January 1699. He was returned unopposed at the two general elections of 1701 and 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 (Briti ...

. In 1702, he was appointed Treasurer of the Chamber to Queen Anne and in 1703 his wife was granted a pension of £600 p.a, having been governess to the late Duke of Gloucester. He was returned unopposed at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, 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 ...

and voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. He supported the Court on the 'place clause' in the regency bill in February 1706. 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 gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

he was returned unopposed as a Whig for Windsor. He voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He retired 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. ...

. The Queen let him keep his posts in the Exchequer and household.

Death and legacy

Fitzharding died, with the title, at Windsor of palsy on 19 December 1712 and was buried in Westminster Abbey. By his wife he had two daughters: * Hon. Frances Berkeley, married Sir Thomas Clarges, 2nd Bt. before 1721. They had two children and was an ancestor of the third and final baronets.Burke, John Evelyn. ''A General and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire, Volume 1''. London: H. Colburn and R. Bentley, 1832, p. 287. * Hon. Mary Berkeley (bef. 1671 – 3 June 1741), married Walter Chetwynd, 1st Viscount Chetwynd of Bearhaven on 27 May 1703 in St. Martin-in-the-Fields in

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

. She was a

maid of honor Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party at some Western traditional wedding ceremonies. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often the bride's close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a wedding or marriage ce ...

to Queen Anne. No issue. Without a male heir, his title became extinct.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzhardinge, John Berkeley, 4th Viscount 1650 births 1712 deaths People from Somerset Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 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

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...