Sir Henry Hobart, 4th Baronet (1657 – 21 August 1698) was an English Whig politician and

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 ...

. He represented several seats in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

between 1681 and 1698, when he was killed in a

duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people with matched weapons. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the rapier and later the small sword), but beginning in ...

with Oliver Le Neve.

Early life and family

Henry Hobart was the eldest son to

Sir John Hobart, 3rd Baronet Sir John Hobart, 3rd Baronet (20 March 1628 – 22 August 1683) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1654 and 1683. Hobart was the son of Sir Miles Hobart (son of Sir Henry Hobart, ...

and his first wife Mary Hampden, daughter to

John Hampden John Hampden (24 June 1643) was an English politician from Oxfordshire, who was killed fighting for Roundhead, Parliament in the First English Civil War. An ally of Parliamentarian leader John Pym, and a cousin of Oliver Cromwell, he was one of ...

. He was educated at

Thetford Grammar School Thetford Grammar School is a private co-educational day school in Thetford, Norfolk, England. The school possibly dates back to the 7th century, which would make it one of the oldest schools in the United Kingdom. History The school website c ...

and

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, graduating in 1675. He was knighted at

Blickling Blickling is a village and civil parish in the Broadland district of the English county of Norfolk. Blickling is located north-west of Aylsham and north of Norwich. Most of the village is located within the Blickling Estate, which has been ow ...

King Charles II of England Charles II (29 May 1630 – 6 February 1685) was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651 and King of England, Scotland, and King of Ireland, Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685. Charles II was the eldest su ...

in 1671 and succeeded his father as baronet in 1683. On 9 July 1684, he married Elizabeth Maynard, eldest daughter of Sir Joseph Maynard, and had by her a son and three daughters. His eldest daughter

Henrietta Henrietta may refer to: * Henrietta (given name), a feminine given name, derived from the male name Henry Places * Henrietta Island in the Arctic Ocean * Henrietta, Mauritius * Henrietta, Tasmania, a locality in Australia United States * Hen ...

was a mistress of

King George II of Great Britain George II (George Augustus; ; 30 October / 9 November 1683 – 25 October 1760) was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (Hanover) and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 ( O.S.) until hi ...

. The second daughter Catherine married Lieutenant-General Charles Churchill. Lady Hobart died in 1701. Hobart was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son

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 ...

, later raised to the peerage as

Earl of Buckinghamshire Earl of Buckinghamshire is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for John Hobart, 1st Baron Hobart. History The Hobart family descends from Henry Hobart, who served as Attorney General and Lord Chief Justice of the ...

Career

Hobart was a Member of Parliament for

King's Lynn King's Lynn, known until 1537 as Bishop's Lynn and colloquially as Lynn, is a port and market town in the borough of King's Lynn and West Norfolk in the county of Norfolk, England. It is north-east of Peterborough, north-north-east of Cambridg ...

between 1681 and 1685. His father's death in 1683 left Hobart as the leader of the Whigs in Norfolk. He represented

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

from January to February 1689 and subsequently

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

until 1690. In 1689 he was appointed an

equerry An equerry (; from French language, French 'stable', and related to 'squire') is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attend ...

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

. Despite Hobart's influence in the county, he was unable to retain a seat in the election of 1690 when he was the only Whig to stand for election in Norfolk. Hobart served as a

Gentleman of the Horse Gentleman of the Horse was a position in the stables department of the British Royal Court, subordinate only to the Master of the Horse. It existed from 1693 until abolished in 1782, and carried a salary of £256. The post was revived in 1828, ...

to William III during the

Williamite War in Ireland The Williamite War in Ireland took place from March 1689 to October 1691. Fought between Jacobitism, Jacobite supporters of James II of England, James II and those of his successor, William III of England, William III, it resulted in a Williamit ...

and fought under him in the

Battle of the Boyne The Battle of the Boyne ( ) took place in 1690 between the forces of the deposed King James II, and those of King William III who, with his wife Queen Mary II (his cousin and James's daughter), had acceded to the Crowns of England and Sc ...

. In 1691 he was removed from office in the king's household, but the same year he was appointed Vice-Admiral of Norfolk. In 1694, he was elected for

Bere Alston Bere Alston is a village in West Devon in the county of Devon in England. It forms part of the civil parish of Bere Ferrers. The village is reported to have a population of 2,259 (2021 Census) History and geography With a population of a ...

in a by-election on the interest of his brother-in-law, the

Earl of Stamford Earl of Stamford was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1628 for Henry Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Groby. This Grey family descended through Lord John Grey, of Pirgo, Essex, younger son of Thomas Grey, 2nd Marquess of Dor ...

. During this parliament he was put on the committee to prepare the impeachment of the

Duke of Leeds Duke of Leeds was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1694 for the prominent statesman Thomas Osborne, 1st Marquess of Carmarthen, who had been one of the Immortal Seven in the Revolution of 1688. He had already succeeded ...

. In 1695 he was returned again for Norfolk when he continued to vote in support of the king's ministry and was a leader of the Rose Club. He was quick to sign the

Association of 1696 The Association was an instrument created after the failed Jacobite assassination plot of 1696 to pledge loyalty to William III of England. Modelled by Lord Somers on the Elizabethan Bond of Association, it placed intense pressure on nonresistant T ...

and thereafter promoted it zealously in his own county. Following the 1696 Jacobite assassination plot, Hobart successfully lobbied the Privy Council for the arrest of his local rival, Sir Christopher Calthorpe. In April 1697, he was promised the role of commissioner of customs by the

Earl of Sunderland Earl of Sunderland is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation came in 1627 in favour of Emanuel Scrope, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton. The earldom became extinct upon his death in 1630, while the barony be ...

, but Sir John Austen was appointed instead. After Hobart complained to Sunderland about the snub, he was appointed to another vacant commissionership in June. In 1698, Hobart attempted for a third time to bring in a bill to limit the wearing of imported Indian cloth, but he was defeated. In the July–August 1698 election, Hobart lost his seat to 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 ...

. He had also attempted to win the seat of St Ives, but lost there too.

Death

In August, after the 1698 election, Hobart was informed that a neighbouring Tory gentleman, Oliver Le Neve, had been spreading word that Hobart had been a coward while serving in Ireland. Hobart immediately issued a challenge to a

, and although Le Neve denied the accusation, Hobart would not accept an apology and demanded a fight. On 20 August 1698, the two fought the duel on Cawston Heath, during which Hobart was mortally wounded. Le Neve of Witchingham Hall,

Great Witchingham Great Witchingham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk, along the River Wensum. The civil parish also includes the smaller village on Lenwade. Great Witchingham is located north-east of Dereham and north-west of Nor ...

, fought left-handed and was wounded in the arm by Hobart who had a reputation as a good swordsman. However, Le Neve struck back and injured his opponent so badly that he died the next day at Blickling Hall. As there were no seconds or witnesses, the duel was illegal. Le Neve fled to Holland but returned to England two years later, when he was tried and acquitted. Nicolson, Adam (2012); ''Gentry: Six Hundred Years of a Peculiarly English Class'', Part III: The Great Century 1610–1710, "Honour: The le Neves, Great Witchingham, Norfolk",

HarperCollins HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...

. Rye, Francis, Rye, Amy; ''Calendar of Correspondence and Documents Relating to the Family of Oliver Le Neve, of Witchingham, Norfolk, 1675-1743'', Norwich, A. H. Goose, (1895). Reprint Rarebooksclub.com (2012). Hobart was buried in the Blickling family vault. A plinth with an urn, called the Duel Stone, which commemorates the duel, stands in a

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

plot on Norwich Road in Cawston.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hobart, Henry 1657 births 1698 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Politicians killed in duels English admirals Williamite military personnel of the Williamite War in Ireland

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

English MPs 1681 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge People from Blickling Members of Parliament for Norfolk Members of the Parliament of England for Bere Alston English duellists Whig members of the pre-1707 English Parliament