Sir Hungerford Hoskyns, 4th Baronet ( 1677–1767) was a British army officer 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 1717 to 1722. Hoskyns was the second son of Sir John Hoskyns, 2nd Baronet MP of Harewood Park, Herefordshire and his wife Jane, Lowe, daughter of Sir Gabriel Lowe of Newark, Gloucestershire. He was admitted at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1701. He joined the army during the war of the Spanish succession and was a Cornet in the

7th Dragoon Guards The 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1688 as Lord Cavendish's Regiment of Horse. It was renamed as the 8th Horse in 1694 and the 7th (The Princess Royal's) Dragoon Guards for ...

in 1705, lieutenant in 1708 and a lieutenant in the

3rd Hussars The 3rd (The King's Own) Hussars was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, first raised in 1685. It saw service for three centuries, including the First and the Second World Wars, before being amalgamated with the 7th Queen's Own Hussars, to ...

in 1709. He resigned from the army when he succeeded his brother 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 17 December 1711 and inherited the family estates. He married, in. 1716, Mary Leigh, daughter of Theophilus Leigh of Adlestrop, Gloucestershire, who was niece of

James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, (6 January 16739 August 1744) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and House of Commons of Great Britain, British House of Commons from 1698 until 1714, wh ...

. Hoskyns was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

at a by-election 6 March 1717. He was defeated at the 1722 general election as a result of his own tactlessness and unsubstantiated gossip. After his defeat he asked Chandos for financial help, but was refused on account of the losses Chandos had sustained in the

South Sea Bubble South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both west and east. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþa ...

. Hoskyns never stood for Parliament again. He was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

, Bononcini and others.Thomas McGeary. ''The Politics of Opera in Handel's Britain''. Cambridge University Press, 2013. p.253 Hoskyns died at the age of 90 on 21 December 1767. He had two sons and two daughters and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Chandos.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hoskyns, Sir Hungerford, 4th Baronet 1770s births 1767 deaths 7th Dragoon Guards officers British MPs 1715–1722 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of England 3rd The King's Own Hussars officers British Army personnel of the War of the Spanish Succession