Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage (c. 1695 – 21 December 1754) of High Meadow, Gloucestershire and later Firle Place, Sussex, was a British landowner and 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 ...

as a Whig for 33 years between 1717 and 1754. 1st_Viscount_Gage

Early life

Gage was the eldest son of Joseph Gage of

Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire, Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remode ...

and Elizabeth Penruddock, the daughter and heiress of Sir George Penruddock. He succeeded his father-in-law to High Meadow in 1714. He converted to the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

in 1715, perhaps to enable him to sit in parliament. Alden (1948), pp. 5,8

Career

Gage was elected Member of Parliament for Minehead at a by-election on 11 April 1717, but was unseated on petition on 23 May 1717. On 14 September 1720, King George I created him Baron Gage of

Castlebar Castlebar () is the county town of County Mayo, Ireland. Developing around a 13th-century castle of the de Barry family, from which the town got its name, the town now acts as a social and economic focal point for the surrounding hinterland. Wi ...

in the county of Mayo, and

Viscount Gage Viscount Gage, of Castle Island in the County of Kerry of the Kingdom of Ireland, is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1720 for Thomas Gage, along with the subsidiary title of Baron Gage, of Castlebar in the County of Mayo ...

of Castle Island in the

county of Kerry County Kerry () is a county on the southwest coast of Ireland, within the province of Munster and the Southern Region. It is bordered by two other counties; Limerick to the east, and Cork to the south and east. It is separated from Clare to t ...

of the

Kingdom of Ireland The Kingdom of Ireland (; , ) was a dependent territory of Kingdom of England, England and then of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1542 to the end of 1800. It was ruled by the monarchs of England and then List of British monarchs ...

. Although styled as Viscount and eligible to sit in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

, this did not prevent him from sitting in 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 1719 he was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is one of the oldest music schools in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the firs ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel ( ; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well-known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concerti. Born in Halle, Germany, H ...

and others. Gage was elected MP for

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town grew following the construction of Tewkesbury Abbey in the twelfth century and played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses. It stands at ...

at a by-election on 25 October 1721 and was elected again at the 1722 general election. In his first session of this parliament, he made several speeches against the special tax on Papists. In April 1727 he spoke for the motion for a vote of credit. He was returned again at the 1727 general election. He exposed the fraudulent sale of the Derwentwater estates on 31 March 1732, and was subsequently rewarded with £2,000 for this under the Forfeited Estates (Greenwich Hospital) Act 1734 ( 8 Geo. 2. c. 29). At the 1734 general election, he was returned again as MP for Tewkesbury. He introduced a bill to prevent clandestine marriages, in 1736, but it was rejected. In 1738, it was rumoured that he was to be appointed as Governor of Barbados, but the appointment was never materialised, probably because he lacked sufficient political connections. Alden (1948), p. 6 He went into opposition with Pulteney and the

Patriot Whigs The Patriot Whigs, later the Patriot Party, were a group within the British Whig Party, Whig Party in Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1725 to 1803. The group was formed in opposition to the government of Robert Walpole in the Britis ...

in 1739, but in February 1741, he was one of the opposition Whigs who withdrew on the motion for Walpole's removal. He was returned to parliament again at the 1741 general election.

On 23 April 1744, his cousin,

Sir William Gage, 7th Baronet Sir William Gage (1695 – 23 April 1744) of Firle Place was a British landowner and politician who sat in the British House of Commons, House of Commons from 1722 to 1744. He was an early patron of cricket, in association with his friend Char ...

, died without children, and Gage inherited the baronetcy and the family estate of

Firle Place Firle Place is a manor house in Firle, East Sussex, United Kingdom. The Gage family have owned the land at Firle since acquiring it from the Levett family in the 15th century. The manor house was first built in the late 15th century by Sir Joh ...

. Sir William's late father was Gage's uncle -

Sir John Gage, 4th Baronet ''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 "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

, Sheriff of

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

. The main line of the family, up to the 7th Baronet, had been Roman Catholic

recusant Recusancy (from ) was the state of those who remained loyal to the Catholic Church and refused to attend Church of England services after the English Reformation. The 1558 Recusancy Acts passed in the reign of Elizabeth I, and temporarily repea ...

s who had purchased their

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 ...

cy from King James I, and Gage quietly resumed practising Roman Catholicism, although his children were raised in the Church of England. At the 1747 general election, he was returned again for Tewkesbury and joined the opposition. In 1747 was appointed Steward of the Household of

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

and held the post until 1751.

First Wife & Children

Under a marriage settlement dated 3 October 1713, he married Benedicta Maria Theresa Hall, daughter and heiress of Henry Benedict Hall of High Meadow, Gloucestershire and his wife Frances Fortescue. Through his marriage to Benedicta, Thomas acquired wealthy estates in Gloucestershire in 1714 including High Meadow house, which became his principal residence, and the sinecure o
Verderer of the Forest of Dean
Firle Estate Website
The Gage Family
accessed 1 December 2021 Their marriage, although unfortunately unhappy, still produced two sons and one daughter. 1. William Hall Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage, born on 6 Jan 1717/18 and christened on 29 Jan 1717/18 at Westminster St James, Middlesex, England.Church of England, Westminster St Jame (Middlesex) Parish Register, vol. 2 (1699–1723), n.p., baptism of William Hall Gage, 31 January 1717/18. 2. General, the Hon.

Thomas Gage General Thomas Gage (10 March 1718/192 April 1787) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator best known for his many years of service in North America, including serving as Commander-in-Chief, North America during the early days ...

, born on 10 March 1718/19 at Firle and christened on 31 March 1719 at Westminster St James, Middlesex, England.Church of England, Westminster St James (Middlesex) Register, vol. 2 (1699–1723), n.p, baptism of Thomas Gage, 31 March 1719, 3. Hon. Benedicta Maria Teresa Gage, married on 6 March 1755, at St George's, Hanover Sq, a catholic, George Tasburgh of Bodney, Norfolk, died without issue.MacLean, J. (1883). "Pedigree of Hall and Gage, of Highmeadow." Transactions, 7, pp. 266. Bristol and Gloucester Archaeological Society. Google Book
p266
accessed 1 December 2021 Benedicta died at Bristol on 25 July 1749, and was buried on 30 July 1749 at Newland, co. Gloucester,"Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:73RY-V22M : 13 September 2020), Benedicta Maria Theresa Hall Gage; Burial, Newland, Forest of Dean District, Gloucestershire, England, All Saints Churchyard; citing record ID 193467558, Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com, accessed 4 December 2021G.E. Cokayne's Complete Peerage, Vol 5, 1926, Gage of Castle Island, Castle Bar, Firle & High Meadow
p596/7
accessed 4 December 2021 having long been separated from Thomas, who married Jane Bond within a year of Benedicta's death.

Second Wife

He married secondly on 26 December 1750, Jane Bond 'daughter of one Godfrey', and widow of Henry Jermyn Bond, Esq. of Bury St. Edmunds. Her first husband Henry was a nephew (via his wife) of a Gage cousin, Sir William Gage, 2nd Baronet of Hengrave. Jane died without issue, shortly after Thomas, on 8 October 1757 in Dover St, Piccadilly, London. Her will was proved 1757, and she was buried in Hengrave Church, Sussex (Suffolk?).

Later life

He had extensive remodelling work done on Firle Place between 1743 and 1753, and was involved in a number of

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

disputes regarding windfall trees, soil rights, and manorial waste. Gage also spent considerable time collecting paintings which are still housed in the Long Gallery of Firle Place today. Gage and his son were defeated at the 1754 general election, having decided not to respond to the threats of his voters only to vote for candidates who promised to give £1,500 towards mending the roads.

Death and legacy

Gage died on 21 December 1754 and was buried at

Firle Firle (; Sussex dialect: ''Furrel'' ) is a village and civil parish in the Lewes (district), Lewes district of East Sussex, England. Firle refers to an Old English word ''fierol'' meaning overgrown with oak. Although the original division of ...

. He was succeeded by his eldest son William Hall Gage, 2nd Viscount Gage. He also had a daughter, Theresa, and a second son

who went on to fame as Commander-in-Chief of 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 ...

British America British America collectively refers to various British colonization of the Americas, colonies of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and its predecessors states in the Americas prior to the conclusion of the American Revolutionary War in 1 ...

at the beginning of the

American War of Independence The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gage, Thomas 1st Viscount Gage Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Viscounts Gage Peers of Ireland created by George I Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Fellows of the Royal Society Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons Gage, Thomas Gage, 1st Viscount British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 People from Firle