Thomas William Chester-Master, senior (25 May 1815 – 31 January 1899) was an English businessman. Thomas was the eldest son of Colonel William Chester-Master by Isabella-Margaret, daughter of Colonel the Hon. Stephen Digby. He married in 1840, the daughter of Sir George Cornewall, baronet, MP, of

Moccas Court Moccas Court is an 18th-century country house which sits in sloping grounds overlooking the River Wye north of the village of Moccas, Herefordshire, England. The house was built in 1775–81 by the architect Anthony Keck for Sir George Amyand ...

, Herefordshire. His family had originally settled in Kent during the English civil wars.Adam Nicolson, The Gentry (2012) But moved to the Three Counties, and held lands in Gloucestershire and Herefordshire, including the ancient medieval Abbey of Gloucester. Lord Seymour, the Marquess of Hertford, had been declared a traitor by bill of Attainder, rendered forfeit his vast estates and titles by Queen Elizabeth I's parliament. The Master family acquired the estates in 1864. Master was a traditional Conservative MP of conventional 'strictly conservative' opinions. He was returned as MP for

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

in 1837, considered an unreformed wool town quite unaffected by the

Great Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

. However he was unhappy in parliament and accepted the

Chiltern Hundreds The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three hundred (county division), ancient hundreds and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the ...

in July 1844. In London he lived at 32a Mount Street, and was a member of the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in the St James's area of London, England. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and elect ...

. A successful businessman he purchased Knole Park, on the Downs near Bristol. His son, Thomas, junior was also an MP.

References

;Bibliography *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chester-Master, Thomas William 1815 births 1899 deaths UK MPs 1837–1841 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 19th-century English businesspeople UK MPs 1841–1847