Sir Edward Leighton, 1st Baronet (c.1650–1711), of Wattlesborough Castle, Shropshire, was a Whig 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 ...

between 1698 and 1710.

Early life

Leighton was the eldest surviving son of Robert Leighton (MP), of Wattlesborough Castle, and his wife, Gertrude Baldwin, daughter of Edward Baldwin of Diddlebury, Shropshire. He was educated at

Shrewsbury School Shrewsbury School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Shrewsbury. Founded in 1552 by Edward VI by royal charter, to replace the town's Saxon collegiate foundations which were disestablished in the sixteenth century, Shrewsb ...

in 1661, and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

on 5 August 1668, aged 18, and was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1669. He married Dorothy Charlton, daughter of Sir Job Charlton, 1st Baronet of Ludford, Herefordshire on 24 May 1677. She died in 1688, and in 1689 he succeeded his father to Wattlesborough. For the year 1692 to 1693, he was

High Sheriff of Shropshire This is a list of sheriffs and high sheriffs of Shropshire The high sheriff, 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 t ...

. He was created a

baronet 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 2 March 1693. On 29 July 1693, he married as his second wife, Jane Nicholls, daughter of Daniel Nicholls, merchant, of London.

Career

Leighton stood as a Whig for both

Shrewsbury Shrewsbury ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is sited on the River Severn, northwest of Wolverhampton, west of Telford, southeast of Wrexham and north of Hereford. At the 2021 United ...

and

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

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 ...

but was defeated at both constituencies. 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 unopposed as Member of Parliament for Shropshire. He was relatively inactive in Parliament and voted against a bill to disband the army on 18 January 1699. He did not stand again in the next four general elections. Leighton stood as a Whig 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 ...

for Shrewsbury and was defeated in the poll. However, he petitioned and was seated as MP on 20 December 1709. He voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell, in 1710 and in April 1710 was probably the Leighton who signed a letter to the lord lieutenant, objecting to the manner by which the Shrewsbury Tories wrote an address to the Queen in favour of Sacheverell. He lost his seat 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. ...

Death and legacy

Leighton died in April 1711 and was buried at Alderbury, Shropshire, on 6 April. He had three sons and four daughters by each of his wives. He left Wattlesborough Castle to his widow for her lifetime. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Edward, who changed the family residence to Loton Park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leighton, Sir Edward, 1st Baronet 1650s births 1711 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of England High sheriffs of Shropshire