Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton, PC (August 1648 – 12 April 1715) was an English peer and Whig politician. A man of great charm and political ability, he was also notorious for his debauched lifestyle.

Background

He was the son of

Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton (18 April 1613 – 4 February 1696) was an English soldier, politician and diplomat. He was a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War. Wharton was the son of Sir Thomas Wharton of Aske Hall and his wi ...

, and his second wife, Jane Goodwin, only daughter of Colonel Arthur Goodwin of

Upper Winchendon Upper Winchendon or Over Winchendon is a village and civil parish in the Aylesbury Vale District of Buckinghamshire, England. It is about south of Waddesdon and west of Aylesbury. A mid-air collision on 17 November 2017 between a plane and a h ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, and heiress to the extensive Goodwin estates in Buckinghamshire, including Winchendon, Wooburn, Waddeston, Weston, and other properties.

Career

In his long political career, he was a Member of Parliament for 17 years and spearheaded the Whig opposition to

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

's government, which later developed the two-party political system under Queen Anne. Before the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution, also known as the Revolution of 1688, was the deposition of James II and VII, James II and VII in November 1688. He was replaced by his daughter Mary II, Mary II and her Dutch husband, William III of Orange ...

he was in close contact with a group of army officers conspiring against King James, including his brother Captain Henry Wharton. In 1689 he was sworn of the Privy Council and made

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of ...

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from 167 ...

, establishing the link between the royal position and

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

for the first time, although William is said to have distrusted him. He went out of office in 1702, after the accession of

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

, who disliked him intensely, and took great pleasure in personally taking his staff of office from him, but in 1706, he was created Earl of Wharton and Viscount Winchendon in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

. He served as

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

1708–1710. He was replaced by the Tory

Duke of Ormonde The peerage title Earl of Ormond and the related titles Duke of Ormonde and Marquess of Ormonde have a long and complex history. An earldom of Ormond has been created three times in the Peerage of Ireland. History of Ormonde titles The earldom ...

when the Harley Ministry came to power. He supported the

No Peace Without Spain No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty cou ...

motion in 1711. The following year he attacked the government's creation of

Harley's Dozen {{short description, Event in British politics Harley's Dozen were twelve new peerages created in December 1711 by the British Tory government of Robert Harley which was struggling to gain a majority in the Whig-dominated House of Lords. This cam ...

, 12 new Tory peers in order to secure passage of their

peace agreement A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice, which is an agreement to stop hostilities; a surr ...

Character and scandals

Anne's antipathy to him was partly the product of her dislike for the

Whig Junto The Whig Junto is the name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig Party and often the government, during the reigns of William III and Anne. The Whig Junto proper consisted of John Somers, later ...

, the "five tyrannising lords", which William III had shared to some extent, but owed far more to his debauched and irreligious character. Even by the standards of Restoration

rakes Rakes may refer to: * The Rakes The Rakes were an English post-punk musical ensemble, band formed in London in 2003. Their first album ''Capture/Release'' released in 2005, received a nine out of ten review in the ''NME'' and was rated 13th ...

, Wharton was considered a man "void of moral or religious principles". The most striking charge was that in 1682, when drunk, he had broken into the church in

Great Barrington, Gloucestershire Great Barrington is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Barrington, in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. It lies in the north bank of the River Windrush, west of the town of Burford, Oxfordshire. In 1931 th ...

, urinated against the communion table and defecated in the pulpit. The story is probably true: certainly in 1705, during a debate on Church matters in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

, Wharton was left speechless when

Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds, (20 February 1632 – 26 July 1712) was an English Tories (British political party), Tory statesman. During the reign of Charles II of England, he was the leading figure in the English government for ro ...

reminded him of it. Despite his faults, he has been described as a man of immense charm, a fine public speaker and a "political organiser of genius". As the dominant politician in

Aylesbury Aylesbury ( ) is the county town of Buckinghamshire, England. It is home to the Roald Dahl Children's Gallery and the Aylesbury Waterside Theatre, Waterside Theatre. It is located in central Buckinghamshire, midway between High Wycombe and Milt ...

, he was partly responsible for the landmark constitutional case of ''

Ashby v White ''Ashby v White'' (170392 ER 126 is a foundational case in UK constitutional law and English tort law. It concerns the right to vote and misfeasance of a public officer. Lord Holt laid down the important principle that where there is inju ...

'', which established the principle that ''for every wrong there is a remedy''. It is rumoured that Wharton had taken Dorothy Townshend, née Walpole, as a lover prior to her marriage. Rumours suggest that her later husband,

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, (; 18 April 167421 June 1738) was a British Whig statesman. From 1714 to 1717, and again from 1721 to 1730, he served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department . He directed British foreign po ...

may have either killed her or faked her funeral and hid her away at

Raynham Hall Raynham Hall is a country house in Norfolk, England. For nearly 400 years it has been the seat of the Townshend family. The hall gave its name to the five estate villages, known as The Raynhams, and is reported to be haunted, providing the ...

. This rumour is based on the alleged infidelity of Dorothy during their marriage. She is also rumoured to haunt Raynham, known as the

Brown Lady of Raynham Hall The Brown Lady of Raynham Hall is a ghost that reportedly haunts Raynham Hall in Norfolk, England. It became one of the most famous hauntings in the United Kingdom when photographers from '' Country Life'' magazine claimed to have captured its i ...

. Macaulay's ''

History of England The territory today known as England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). BB ...

'' describes Wharton in prose:

Last years

Under

George I of Great Britain George I (George Louis; ; 28 May 1660 – 11 June 1727) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 1 August 1714 and ruler of the Electorate of Hanover within the Holy Roman Empire from 23 January 1698 until his death in 1727. ...

, he returned to favour. In January 1715, he was created Marquess of Catherlough, Earl of Rathfarnham, and Baron Trim in the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

, and in February 1715 Marquess of Wharton and Marquess of Malmesbury in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

. When he died suddenly in April 1715 he was buried in

. He is the author of the original lyrics of ''

Lillibullero "Lillibullero" (also spelt Lillibulero, Lilliburlero, or Lilli Burlero) is a march (music), march attributed to Henry Purcell that became popular in England at the time of the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Background Henry Purcell is alleged ...

'', which "rhymed King James out of England".

Family

Wharton married firstly on 16 September 1673 Anne, or Nan, Lee (d 29 October 1685 aged 26), younger daughter of Sir Henry Lee, 3rd Bt. (d. 1659), an elder half-brother of the famous libertine poet

John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester John Wilmot, 2nd Earl of Rochester (1 April 1647 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 26 July 1680 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English poet and courtier of King Charles II of England, Charles II's Restoration (England), ...

; she had some reputation as a poet and dramatist. They had no issue together. Her sister Eleanora Lee married James Bertie, Lord Norreys; their cousin was

Edward Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield Edward Henry Lee, 1st Earl of Lichfield (4 February 1663 – 14 July 1716) was an English peer, the son of a baronet, who at 14 years of age married one of the illegitimate daughters of King Charles II, Charlotte Lee, prior to which he was ma ...

. Although her husband may have infected her with syphilis, Anne Wharton left him her fortune. Her grandmother

Anne St. John, Countess of Rochester Sir John St John, 1st Baronet (5 November 1585 – 1648) of Lydiard Tregoze in the England, English county of Wiltshire, was a Member of Parliament, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament and prominent cavalier, Royalist during ...

tried to regain her fortune from the Whartons with little effect. He married secondly Lucy Loftus, only daughter and heiress of

Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Lisburne Adam Loftus, 1st Viscount Lisburne (1647 – 15 September 1691) was an Anglo-Irish peer and military commander. He was the second son of Sir Arthur Loftus of Rathfarnham, co. Dublin and Lady Dorothy Boyle, daughter of Richard Boyle, 1st Earl o ...

and Lucy Brydges. They had one son

Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton Philip Wharton, 1st Duke of Wharton Privy Council of Ireland, PC (21 December 1698 – 31 May 1731) was an English peer and Jacobitism, Jacobite politician who was one of the few people in the history of England, and the first since the 15th c ...

, and two daughters, Lucy Morice and Jane Holt.Mosley p. 899 On his son's death without heirs, all his titles became extinct, except the Barony which passed to Jane Holt.

References

Succession boxes

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess Of 1648 births 1715 deaths Lord-lieutenants of Buckinghamshire Lord-lieutenants of Oxfordshire Lords Privy Seal 1 Members of the Privy Council of England English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 Catherlough Peers of Ireland created by George I Lords Lieutenant of Ireland Barons Wharton

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 ...

Whig (British political party) politicians