Sir Rushout Cullen, 3rd Baronet (1661–1730), of Upton,

Ratley Ratley is a village in the Civil parishes in England, civil parish of Ratley and Upton, Stratford-on-Avon District, Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish in 2011 was 327. It is on the northwest side of the Edge Hill, Warwicks ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

and

Isleham Isleham is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cambridgeshire. It is part of the Fens. It has three pubs. Geography Isleham is located in the Fens of south-east Cambridgeshire. The western parish boundary is formed by the Cro ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

, was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

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 1697 and 1710.

Early life

Cullen was the son of Sir Abraham Cullen, 1st Baronet, MP of East Sheen, Surrey and Upton near Banbury in Warwickshire, and his wife Abigail Rushout, daughter of John Rushout, merchant of St Dionis Backchurch, London and Maylords, Havering, Essex. In 1677, he succeeded his brother John 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 ...

. He married his cousin Mary Adams widow of William Adams of Sprowston, Norfolk and daughter of Sir John Maynard of Tooting Graveney, Surrey on 13 April 1686. In 1688, he sold the estate at East Sheen, and bought more property at Upton, for £7,000. His wife who died in about 1694, had inherited property in Cambridgeshire where he was appointed a deputy-lieutenant. At Upton, he built the mansion known as Upton House in about 1695 and he then married, as his second wife, Eleanor Jarrett, daughter of William Jarrett, merchant, of St Dionis Backchurch, on 19 July 1696.

Career

Cullen stood for Parliament as a Whig at

at a by-election on 21 December 1693, and lost by seven votes to The Lord Cutts. 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 ...

he stood on the suggestion of his brother-in-law, Sir James Rushout, 1st Baronet at

Evesham Evesham () is a market town and Civil parishes in England, parish in the Wychavon district of Worcestershire, in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands region of England. It is located roughly equidistant between Worcester, England, Worceste ...

, but, being an outsider, was narrowly defeated. He was finally returned as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

at a by-election on 16 December 1697. 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 in a contest, and was returned unopposed at the two general elections of 1701. In February 1702 he acted as a teller for the first time. He was a Whig and, by an electoral pact, was returned unopposed, with the Tory Granado Pigot, at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...

. At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...

he topped the poll in a close contest and voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. He supported the Court side over the 'place clause' of the regency bill on 18 February 1706. 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 ...

, he was returned unopposed and continued to support the Whig administration acting as teller twice in the first session. He voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He did not seek re-election 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. ...

, and retired to his Warwickshire estates.

Death and legacy

Cullen died on 15 October 1730, and was buried at Upton. He had one daughter, Mary, who married Sir John Dutton, 2nd Baronet but no male heir, so the baronetcy became extinct. He left as his heir his nephew Thomas Bedford of the Middle Temple.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cullen, Rushout 1661 births 1730 deaths People from Stratford-on-Avon District People from Isleham English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 Baronets in the Baronetage of England