Sir Thomas Cave, 5th Baronet (27 May 1712 – 7 August 1778) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

politician and lawyer.

Background

Baptised at St Martin-in-the-Fields Church in

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist sit ...

, he was the second son of Sir Thomas Cave, 3rd Baronet and his wife Hon. Margaret Verney, daughter of

John Verney, 1st Viscount Fermanagh John Verney, 1st Viscount Fermanagh (5 November 1640 – 23 June 1717), known as Sir John Verney, 2nd Baronet, between 1696 and 1703, was an English peer, merchant and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1710 to 1717. Early life ...

. Cave was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a Public school (United Kingdom), private boarding school for pupils aged 13–18, located in the town of Rugby, Warwickshire in England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independ ...

and then at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

. In 1734, he succeeded his older brother Verney as

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 ...

. Cave was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

by the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in the following year and he received an honorary degree of

Doctor of Civil Law Doctor of Civil Law (DCL; ) is a degree offered by some universities, such as the University of Oxford, instead of the more common Doctor of Laws (LLD) degrees. At Oxford, the degree is a higher doctorate usually awarded on the basis of except ...

by the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

in 1756.

Career

Cave entered the

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 ...

in 1741, sitting as a Member of Parliament (MP) for

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 ...

until 1747. He was again successful in 1762 and represented the constituency until his withdrawal from politics in 1774, because of ill health.

Family

He married Elizabeth Davies, daughter of Griffith Davies in November 1735 and had by her six daughters and two sons. Among them were: * Sir Thomas Cave, 6th Baronet (22 August 1737 – 30 May 1780). He married Sarah Edwards. They had one son who succeeded him, Thomas, 7th Baronet and a daughter Sarah, Baroness Braye. * Rev. Sir Charles Cave, 8th Baronet (c. 1747–1810). He was never married. * Margaret Cave, married John Moses. They were parents of Mary Jane Moses (1765-1800), first wife of Aubrey Beauclerk, 6th Duke of Saint Albans. * Elizabeth Cave, married as his fourth wife, Bennet Sherard, 3rd Earl of Harborough. They had no issue. * Maria Constantia Cave, married in 1773 Henry Etherington, with no issue. Cave died, aged 66 and was buried at Stanford, Northamptonshire. He was succeeded 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 ...

by his oldest son Thomas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cave, Thomas 1712 births 1778 deaths 18th-century English lawyers Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Cave-Browne-Cave baronets British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Leicestershire People educated at Rugby School People from Covent Garden People from Northamptonshire