Sir Stephen Lennard, 2nd Baronet (2 March 1637 – 15 December 1709) of

Wickham Court Wickham Court is a semi-fortified country house in West Wickham, Bromley, a borough of south-east London and historically and traditionally part of the county of Kent. The house dates from the time of Henry VII and is a Grade I listed building. ...

, West Wickham, Kent was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat 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 ...

in two periods between 1681 and 1701 and in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

from 1708 to 1709. Lennard was the son of Sir Stephen Lennard, 1st Baronet of West Wickham and his third wife Anne Oglander, daughter of

John Oglander Sir John Oglander (12 May 1585 – 28 November 1655) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1625 to 1629. He is now remembered as a diarist. Life Oglander was born at Nunwell House on the Isle of Wight, the son of Wi ...

of Nunwell House, Nunwell, Isle of Wight. He married Elizabeth Roy, widow of John Roy of Woodlands, Dorset, and daughter of Delalyne Hussey of Shapwick, Dorset after a settlement of 30 December 1671. He was Commissioner for assessment for Kent and Surrey from 1677 to 1680, and appointed deputy lieutenant for Kent in 1679. On 29 January 1680, he succeeded 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 the death of his father and was subsequently appointed a JP. Lennard was returned as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Winchelsea Winchelsea () is a town in the county of East Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. The current town, which was founded in 1288, replaced an earli ...

in a contest at the 1681 English general election but took little part in proceedings. He was a colonel of the militia by 1683. He did not stand at the 1685 English general election. He was dismissed from all his local offices in February 1688 because he failed to answer the three questions, on account of 'illness'. However he was restored as JP and

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

of a regiment of the

Kent Militia The Kent Militia was an auxiliary military force in the county of Kent in South East England. From their formal organisation as Trainband, Trained Bands in 1558 until their final service as the Special Reserve, the Militia (United Kingdom), Mili ...

in October 1688 and was Commissioner of Assessment for Kent from 1689 to 1690 and deputy lieutenant from 1689 for the rest of his life.Col George Jackson Hay, ''An Epitomized History of the Militia (The Constitutional Force)'', London:United Service Gazette, 1905, p. 377.
/ref> 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 ...

, Lennard was returned unopposed as MP for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. He did not stand again in the 1701 elections. He was next returned for Kent again as a Whig in a contest 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 supported the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and, on 12 December 1709, he was added to a committee drafting a local turnpike bill. On 14 December the House of Commons voted to impeach Dr Sacheverell, and he was heard to comment that they were going 'to roast a parson'. Lennard dropped dead of apoplexy aged 72 on 15 December 1709, the day after his comment, while walking in

Drury Lane Drury Lane is a street on the boundary between the Covent Garden and Holborn areas of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of London Borough of Camden, Camden and the southern part in the City o ...

, London. He was buried at West Wickham. He had three daughters, and a son

Samuel Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...

, who succeeded to the baronetcy.

References

1637 births 1709 deaths English MPs 1681 English MPs 1698–1700 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 Baronets in the Baronetage of England Kent Militia officers {{1698-England-MP-stub