Sir John St Aubyn, 3rd Baronet (1696–1744), of Clowance and St Michael's Mount, Cornwall, was an English

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 ...

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 1722 to 1744.

Early life

St Aubyn was born on 27 September 1696, the eldest son of John St. Aubyn, 2nd Baronet and his wife Mary de la Hay, daughter and coheiress of Peter de la Hay of

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, ...

. He succeeded his father to 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 20 June 1714. He was entered as

gentleman-commoner A commoner is a student at certain universities in the British Isles who historically pays for his own tuition and commons, typically contrasted with scholars and exhibitioners, who were given financial emoluments towards their fees. Cambridge ...

Exeter College, Oxford Exeter College (in full: The Rector and Scholars of Exeter College in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England, and the fourth-oldest college of the university. The college was founde ...

, on 10 June 1718, and created M.A. on 19 July 1721.

Career

St Aubyn was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

and was returned unopposed again in

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

1734 Events January– March * January 8 – Salzburgers, Lutherans who were expelled by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Salzburg, Austria, in October 1731, set sail for the British Colony of Georgia in America. * February 16 – ...

and

1741 Events January–March * January 13 ** Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. ** Conventicle Act of 1741 is introduced in Denmark-Norway. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain ...

. In the House of Commons St. Aubyn spoke infrequently. Joining the opposition against

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

, he was hostile to the Septennial Act, and the employment of

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

ian troops with the standing army. On 9 March 1742, after Walpole's fall from power, he seconded Lord Limerick's motion for a committee to inquire into the transactions of the previous two decades, which was defeated by 244 votes to 242. A fortnight later he seconded a motion by Limerick for a secret committee of 21 to examine Walpole's official acts during the last ten years, and it was carried by 252 votes to 245. In the polling for the committee he led with 518 votes, but declined to preside. He is said to have also declined a seat on the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

. St. Aubyn was on close terms with

William Borlase William Borlase (2 February 169631 August 1772), Cornish antiquary, geologist and naturalist. From 1722, he was Rector of Ludgvan, Cornwall, where he died. He is remembered for his works ''The Antiquities of Cornwall'' (1754; 2nd ed., 1769) a ...

, and was a friend and correspondent of

Alexander Pope Alexander Pope (21 May 1688 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S. – 30 May 1744) was an English poet, translator, and satirist of the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment era who is considered one of the most prominent English poets of the early ...

. Jacobite sympathies were at one remove: he briefed

Thomas Carte Thomas or John Carte (1686–1754) was an English historian with Jacobite sympathies, who served as a Church of England clergyman. Life Carte was born in 1686 near Clifton upon Dunsmore (itself near Rugby), the eldest son of the antiquari ...

on parliamentary debates, for the benefit of the

Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until ...

, who gained an exaggerated view of St. Aubyn's effective support.

Family and legacy

St Aubyn married Catherine Morice, daughter and coheiress of

Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet (1681–27 January 1726) of Werrington Park (then in Devon but now in Cornwall) was an English politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1702 to 1726. Early life Morice was the eldes ...

, at

St James's Church, Piccadilly St James's Church, Piccadilly, also known as St James's Church, Westminster, and St James-in-the-Fields, is an Anglican church on Piccadilly in the centre of London, England. The church was designed and built by Sir Christopher Wren. The churc ...

on 3 October 1725. The match brought him £10,000 in cash and the manor of Stoke-Damerel, including Devonport. She died at Clowance in Crowan on 16 June 1740, and was buried in

Crowan Crowan ( (village) or (parish)) is a village and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is about three-and-a-half miles (6 km) south of Camborne.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 ''Land's End'' A former mining pa ...

church. St Aubyn died of fever at Pencarrow,

Egloshayle Egloshayle (, meaning ''church on an estuary'') is a civil parish and village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. The village is beside the River Camel, southeast of Wadebridge. The civil parish stretches southeast from the village an ...

, Cornwall, on 15 August 1744, and was buried in a granite vault with his wife in Crowan church on 23 August. They had five children.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Aubyn, John 1696 births 1744 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 Burials in Cornwall

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 ...

Tory members of the Parliament of Great Britain