Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baronet (8 January 1745 – 17 November 1813), was a British soldier and politician.Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baronet (1745–1813)

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

. Accessed 27 November 2022.

Biography

Metcalfe was the son of Rev'd Thomas Metcalfe, a chaplain in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and his wife, Margaret Williams.Robert Henry O'Byrne, ''The representative history of Great Britain and Ireland, comprising biographical and genealogical notices of the members of parliament from 1 Edward vi., 1547 to 10 Victoria, 1847'' (1848), pp. 172–173. Metcalfe was born at Throstle Nest, Gisborough, Cleveland, England. He served as an officer in the army of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

having first traveled to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1767, eventually becoming a major in the

Bengal Army The Bengal Army was the army of the Bengal Presidency, one of the three presidencies of British India within the British Empire. The presidency armies, like the presidencies themselves, belonged to the East India Company (EIC) until the Gover ...

. He was a Director of the East India Company intermittently between 1789 and 1812, and gained a considerable personal fortune. He purchased the manor of Chilton and the estate of Fernhill at

Winkfield Winkfield is a village and civil parish in the Bracknell Forest unitary authority of Berkshire, England. Geography According to the 2011 census, the parish had a population of 14,998. The parish includes the hamlets of Winkfield, Maidens Gre ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, He was elected Member of Parliament for Abingdon in 1796 as a

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 ...

. He sat for the seat until his defeat at the 1807 general election. Most of his contributions in the Commons related to India and its administration. On 21 December 1802, he was created 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 ...

, of Chilton in the County of Berkshire, in the

Baronetage of the United Kingdom Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

. He was

High Sheriff of Berkshire The High Sheriff of Berkshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Anglo-Saxons, Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff#United King ...

in 1809.

Personal life

Metcalfe married Susannah Selina Sophia Debonnaire on 18 April 1782, and together they had eight children: *Sir Theophilus John Metcalfe, 2nd Baronet (1783–1822) * Charles Theophilus Metcalfe, 1st Baron Metcalfe (1785–1846) *Louisa Sophia Metcalfe (1787–?) *Selina Sophia Metcalfe (1788–1791) *Emily Theophila Metcalfe (1790–1885) *Georgiana Theophila Metcalfe (died b. 1864) * Sir Thomas Theophilus Metcalfe, 4th Baronet (1795–1853) *Henry Theophilus Metcalfe (1796–1804)

References

1745 births 1813 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom British East India Company Army officers British people in colonial India Directors of the British East India Company High sheriffs of Berkshire Tory MPs (pre-1834) Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 People from Winkfield {{UK-baronet-stub