Sir Ralph Assheton, 2nd Baronet (11 February 1651 – 3 May 1716) of Middleton Hall and

Whalley Abbey Whalley Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey in Whalley, Lancashire, England. After the dissolution of the monasteries, the abbey was largely demolished and a country house was built on the site. In the 20th century the house was modified ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

landowner and politician who represented

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

(1677–79) and

(1694–98) as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

Early life

Baptised on 19 February 1651 in Middleton in

, he was the son of

Sir Ralph Assheton, 1st Baronet, of Middleton ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

, and Anne Assheton, daughter of Sir Ralph Assheton, 1st Baronet, of Great Lever. Assheton was educated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

, where he matriculated in 1668. In 1665, he succeeded to his father's

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 ...

and in 1696, he inherited the family's estates in

Downham Downham is a district of south-east London, England, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It borders the London Borough of Bromley, and is located north of Bromley and south of Catford. Downham was named in honour of Lord Downham, who was ...

near

Whalley, Lancashire Whalley is a large village and civil parish in the Ribble Valley on the banks of the River Calder in Lancashire, England. It is overlooked by Whalley Nab, a large wooded hill over the river from the village. The population of the civil parish ...

from his uncle Sir John Assheton, 4th Baronet, of Lever.

Career

From March 1677 to 1679, Assheton was

(MP) for

and from 1694 to 1698 for

. He was a

Justice of the Peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Lancashire from 1675 to 1687 and from 1689 until his death. He died, aged 65, and was buried at Middleton. In the baronetcy, he was succeeded by his nephew, Sir Ralph Assheton, 3rd Baronet, of Middleton. Assheton had a private book collection of some significance and works from his collection can be identified by the presence of his engraved bookplate.

Family

Assheton had married firstly Mary Vavasour, the daughter of Thomas Vavasour of

Spaldington Spaldington is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England, lying approximately north from the market town of Howden and south of York. It lies to the west of the A614 road. Geography The civil parish lies in the Vale ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, with whom he had one son (who predeceased him) and three daughters. He married, secondly, to Mary Hyde, the daughter of Robert Hyde of Denton,

. His daughter Catherine Assheton (d.1728) married Thomas Lister (1688–1745).

References

1651 births 1716 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of England Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Liverpool English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1695–1698 People from Middleton, Greater Manchester Lancashire Militia officers {{17thC-England-MP-stub