Sir William Barker, 5th Baronet (1685 – 23 July 1731) of Grimston Hall, Suffolk 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 ...

Tory 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 ...

between 1708 and 1731.

Early life

Barker was the son of

Sir John Barker, 4th Baronet Sir John Barker, 4th Baronet (1655 – 14 August 1696) was an English baronet and Tory politician. He was the second son of Sir John Barker, 2nd Baronet and Winifred Parker, daughter of Sir Philip Parker. In 1665, he succeeded his older brot ...

and his wife Bridget Bacon, daughter of Sir Nicholas Bacon of Shrubland Hall, Suffolk. In 1696, he succeeded his father 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 ...

. He attended Ipswich school and was admitted at

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...

on 7 April 1702, aged 16. He married Mary Bence, only daughter of John Bence, MP, of

Heveningham Heveningham is a village and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk in eastern England. Located four miles south-west of Halesworth, in 2005 it had a population of 120. Heveningham Hall, a country house b ...

, Suffolk.

Career

After having narrowly failed to get elected in a by-election a year earlier, Barker was returned as Tory Member of Parliament for

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in Suffolk, England. It is the county town, and largest in Suffolk, followed by Lowestoft and Bury St Edmunds, and the third-largest population centre in East Anglia, ...

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 ...

where his father in law was retiring as an MP. He voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. 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. ...

, he was returned again in a contest for Ipswich. He was listed among the 'Tory patriots' who voted against the continuation of the war and among the 'worthy patriots' who laid open the mismanagements of the previous ministry. He was also a member of the October Club. At the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

, he was returned unopposed as MP for

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

. Barker did not stand at the 1715 general election and was out of parliament for a few years in the course of which his wife Mary died on 1 January 1716. He was returned unopposed as MP for

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

at a by-election on 31 October 1722. He spoke against the Government on 23 November 1724 on the army estimates, and on 12 April 1727 on the vote of credit. 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 for Suffolk in a contest. He spoke against the Government on 7 May 1728 on a vote of credit, and twice in April 1729 on the civil list arrears.

Death and legacy

Barker married as his second wife Anne Spencer, widow of Edward Spencer, of Rendlesham, Suffolk, at

St Marylebone Church St Marylebone Parish Church is an Anglican church on the Marylebone Road in London. It was built to the designs of Thomas Hardwick in 1813–17. The present site is the third used by the parish for its church. The first was further south, near ...

, London, on 9 February 1731. A few months later, he died on 23 July 1731 at his house in

East Street East Street Market also known locally as 'East Street', 'The Lane', or 'East Lane', is a street market in Walworth in South East London. Location East Street is in the London Borough of Southwark and is between Walworth Road on the western ...

, near Red Lion Square. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son Sir John Barker, 6th Baronet, his only child by his first wife. He also left £500 in his will to provide for the upbringing and apprenticeship of Charles King, offspring of Mary King, who may have been his illegitimate son.

References

1685 births 1731 deaths

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Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Ipswich {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub