Sir Joseph Danvers, 1st Baronet (24 December 1686 – 21 October 1753), of

Swithland Swithland is a linear village in the Charnwood (borough), Charnwood borough of Leicestershire, England. The civil parish population was put at 230 in 2004 and 217 in the 2011 census. It is in the old Charnwood Forest, between Cropston, Woodhous ...

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire to the north, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire to the south-east, Warw ...

, was an English 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 1747. Danvers was the eldest son of Samuel Danvers of Swithland and his wife Elizabeth Morewood, only daughter of Joseph Morewood, merchant, of London and Overton, Derbyshire. He succeeded his father in 1693. He was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

on 14 January 1709. In 1721, he succeeded to the Oxfordshire estates of his mother's second husband, John Danvers. He married Frances Babington, the daughter of Thomas Babington of

Rothley Temple Rothley Temple, or more correctly Rothley Preceptory, (pronounced ''Rowth-Ley'') was a preceptory (a religious establishment operated by certain orders of monastic knights) in the village of Rothley, Leicestershire, England, associated with bo ...

, Leicestershire on 7 December 1721.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 ...

in 1724 . Danvers was appointed

High Sheriff of Leicestershire This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Leicestershire, United Kingdom. The 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 ...

for 1721 (June to December). He was returned as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge ( ) is a town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on the main A1 road from London to Edinburgh, which c ...

at a by-election on 24 October 1722 by the Duke of Newcastle at the request of Lord Sunderland. He was a frequent speaker in Parliament. At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

he was returned as MP for

Bramber Bramber is a former Manorialism, manor, village and civil parish in the Horsham (district), Horsham District of West Sussex, England. It has a ruined mediaeval castle which was the ''caput'' of a large English feudal barony, feudal barony. B ...

. He switched seats and was returned as MP for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

. He was returned again at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

and was made 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 ...

in 1746 before his retirement at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Hen ...

. Danvers died on 21 October 1753 and was buried at St Leonard's churchyard, Swithland in a tomb built half inside the graveyard and half outside on Danvers' estate to allow his favourite dog to be buried with him (the dog being buried on unconsecrated ground).Dare, Paul (1925) ''Charnwood Forest and its Environs'', Edgar Backus, pp. 96–97. He had one son John who succeeded to the baronetcy and four daughters.

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* 1686 births 1753 deaths People from Swithland Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Totnes British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 High sheriffs of Leicestershire Fellows of the Royal Society {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub