Robert Marsham, 1st Baron Romney (17 September 1685 – 28 November 1724) of The Mote, Maidstone, known as Sir Robert Marsham, Bt between 1703 and 1716, was an English Whig 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 1708 to 1716 when he was raised to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes Life peer, non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted Imperial, royal and noble ranks, noble ranks. Peerages include: A ...

as Baron Romney.

Early life

Marsham was the son of

Sir Robert Marsham, 4th Baronet Sir Robert Marsham, 4th Baronet (16 December 1650 – 25 July 1703) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1698 to 1702. Marsham was the son of Sir John Marsham, 1st Baronet and lived at Bushey Hall, Hertfordshire. He ...

Bushey Hall Bushey Hall was an English historic house in Hertfordshire. It was built in 1428 for Thomas Montacute, 4th Earl of Salisbury. It was also the home of Sir John Marsham, 1st Baronet. In 1881, a hydrotherapeutic institute was opened in its 250 acres ...

, Hertfordshire, and his wife Margaret Bosvile, daughter of Thomas Bosvile of Little Motte, Eynsford, Kent. His father was a former MP for Maidstone.John Burke ''A General and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire Volume 2'' 1832
/ref> Margaret, granddaughter of Sir Francis Wyatt, was heir to the Wyatt family seat and passed Boxley Manor to her son. Allington & Boxley: a compilation of original sources on Allington Castle and Boxley Abbey. Accessed 2012 April 03. He matriculated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

on 9 August 1701, aged 15 and succeeded his father in the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on 26 July 1703.

Career

Marsham was appointed as J.P. by February 1707. He was returned in a contest as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

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 supported the naturalization of the

Palatines Palatines () were the citizens and princes of the Palatinates, Holy Roman States that served as capitals for the Holy Roman Emperor. After the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the nationality referred more specifically to residents of the ...

in 1709, and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. 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. ...

he was returned again in a contest. He was one of the Members ordered to draft a bill to ascertain the tithe of hops and presented it on 10 May 1710, but it made no further progress. He continually opposed the

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 ...

administration throughout the Parliament, voting against an amendment to the South Sea bill on 15 May 1711, and for the "

No Peace Without Spain No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty cou ...

" motion on 7 December 1711. On 18 June 1713 he voted against the French commerce bill. He was returned again for Maidstone at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

. He was a member of the Hanover Club and voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele on 18 March 1714. When Queen Anne died, he was a signatory to the proclamation of her successor. Marsham was returned again at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...

. After a short while, he was raised to the peerage as Baron Romney, of Romney in the County of Kent, on 22 June 1716 and vacated his seat in the House of Commons to sit in the House of Lords. He was constituted Lieutenant-governor of

Dover Castle Dover Castle is a medieval castle in Dover, Kent, England and is Grade I listed. It was founded in the 11th century and has been described as the "Key to England" due to its defensive significance throughout history. Some writers say it is the ...

in 1717. In 1723, he was elected a

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

. The family seat of the Marshams was

Mote Park Mote Park is a multi-use public park in Maidstone, Kent. Previously a country estate it was converted to landscaped park land at the end of the 18th century before becoming a municipal park. It includes the former stately home Mote House toget ...

in Kent.

Marriage and children

Romney married Elizabeth Shovell, daughter of

Admiral of the Fleet An admiral of the fleet or shortened to fleet admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to field marshal and marshal of the air force. An admiral of the fleet is typically senior to an admiral. It is also a generic ter ...

Sir Cloudesley Shovell, at the Chapel Royal, Whitehall, on 19 August 1708. They had two children: *

Hon Hon or HON may refer to: People Given name * Cho Hŏn (1544–1592), Joseon militia leader * Ho Hon (1885–1951), North Korean politician Surname * Han (surname) (Chinese: 韩/韓), also romanized Hon * Louis Hon (1924–2008), French fo ...

Elizabeth Marsham (born 15 August 1711, died 25 September 1782). Married

Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone Jacob Bouverie, 1st Viscount Folkestone (bapt. 14 October 1694 – 17 February 1761) was an English politician, known as Sir Jacob Bouverie, 3rd Baronet from 1737 to 1747. Early life Lord Folkestone was born Jacob des Bouverie and baptised on ...

on 12 April 1741 and had issue. * Robert Marsham, 2nd Baron Romney (born 22 August 1712, died 16 November 1793). Married Priscilla, daughter and heiress of Charles Pym. The couple had at least five children: **

Charles Marsham, 1st Earl of Romney Charles Marsham, 1st Earl of Romney (28 September 1744 – 1 March 1811), known as The Lord Romney between 1793 and 1801, was a British politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1768 to 1790, inherited his peerag ...

(28 September 1744 – 1 March 1811). **Hon. Frances Marsham (b. 2 April 1755). **Hon. Chauvel Marsham (b. 22 October 1757). **Hon. Jacob Marsham (b. 1 March 1759). **Hon. Charlotte Marsham (b. 12 November 1761).''The Register of Births & Baptisms in the Parish of St James in the County of Middlesex Vol. V. 1761-1786''. 11 December 1761. Romney died on 28 November 1724, aged 39, and was buried in Crayford, Kent. He was succeeded in the barony by his only son, Robert. Lady Romney married as her second husband

John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford John Carmichael, 3rd Earl of Hyndford (15 March 1701 – 19 July 1767), styled Lord Carmichael between 1710 and 1737, was a Scottish nobleman and diplomat. Life He was son of James Carmichael, 2nd Earl of Hyndford and succeeded to the earldom i ...

and died in November 1750, aged 58.thepeerage.com Robert Marsham, 1st Baron Romney
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Romney, Robert Marcham, 1st Baron 1685 births 1724 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of England Barons in the Peerage of Great Britain Peers of Great Britain created by George I Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 Fellows of the Royal Society