Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton (9 April 1672 – 2 April 1729), was a Tory politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

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 ...

between 1698 and 1711 when he was raised to the peerage as

Baron Middleton Baron Middleton, of Middleton in the County of Warwick, is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain, created in December 1711 for Sir Thomas Willoughby, 2nd Baronet, who had previously represented Nottinghamshire and Newark in Parliament. It wa ...

as one 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 ...

Early life

Willoughby was born at Middleton Hall,

Middleton, Warwickshire Middleton is a small village in the North Warwickshire district of the county of Warwickshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 630. History At the time of the Domesday Book Middleton was under a Norman Ove ...

, the second son of

Francis Willughby Francis Willughby (sometimes spelt Willoughby, ) Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (22 November 1635 – 3 July 1672) was an English ornithology, ornithologist, ichthyology, ichthyologist and mathematician, and an early student of linguistics an ...

and his wife Emma Barnard, daughter of Sir Henry Barnard, merchant, of London and Bridgnorth, Shropshire. His father, who preferred to use this aberrant spelling of the family name, was a mathematician and naturalist but died shortly after his son's birth. In August 1676, Willoughby's mother married

Sir Josiah Child, 1st Baronet Sir Josiah Child, 1st Baronet, (c. 1630/31 – 22 June 1699) was an English economist, merchant and politician. He was an economist proponent of mercantilism and governor of the East India Company. He led the company in the Anglo-Mughal War. ...

, MP, and the family moved to Wanstead in Essex. His elder brother, Francis, decided Willoughby should go to Cambridge and he was admitted at

St Catharine's College, Cambridge St Catharine's College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. Founded in 1473 as Katharine Hall, it adopted its current name in 1860. The college is nicknamed "Catz". The colle ...

on 10 July 1683. He subsequently transferred to

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

on 4 May 1685, where he was under the tutorship of Dr Man. In 1688 on the early death of his brother, Francis, he succeeded to 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 ...

, and inherited the estates at Middleton, Warwickshire and at

Wollaton Hall Wollaton Hall is an Elizabethan country house of the 1580s standing on a small but prominent hill in Wollaton Park, Nottingham, England. The house is now Nottingham Natural History Museum, with Nottingham Industrial Museum in the outbuilding ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

. Willoughby was living in London in the winter of 1688 to 1689, where he contracted smallpox. On recovery, he decided to live at

and continued there his studies under Dr Man. He was added to the Nottinghamshire commission of the peace in April 1689. In 1690 the Earl of Danby, warden of

Sherwood Forest Sherwood Forest is the remnants of an ancient royal forest, Royal Forest in Nottinghamshire, within the East Midlands region in England. It has association with the legend of Robin Hood. The forest was proclaimed by William the Conqueror and ...

, appointed him to the post of Chief forester and keeper of the walk of Langton Arbor, Sherwood Forest. On 9 April 1691, he married Elizabeth Rothwell, daughter of

Sir Richard Rothwell, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Rothwell, 1st Baronet (c. 1628 – 1694) of Stapleford, Lincolnshire was an English Member of Parliament between 1677 and 1681. He was the 2nd son of William Rothwell of Ewerby, Lincolnshire. He succeeded his elder brother c. 1655 a ...

. In 1692 he became Deputy Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

on 30 November 1693.

Career

Willoughby became a person of great influence, and in 1695 was

High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of the English county of Nottinghamshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centu ...

. At the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' su ...

, he stood with Gervase Eyre at

to turn out the sitting members, and was returned as Member of Parliament by a large margin. He extended his influence to Lincolnshire in 1699 when he was

High Sheriff of Lincolnshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Lincolnshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilit ...

and appointed Deputy Lieutenant. He was returned again for Nottinghamshire at the two general elections of 1701. At the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...

he refused to stand for parliament, but received several hundred votes nevertheless. He was returned unopposed as Tory MP for Nottinghamshire at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...

through an electoral pact with the Whig John Thornhagh. He was absent from the vote on the new speaker, and hardly left his mark in the Parliament, although he was named to draft a bill concerning the Trent navigation on 20 November 1705. He had been petitioning Queen Anne for the title of High steward, and the profits of, the honor of Peveril, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire which included valuable coal mines and stone quarries, and eventually in 1706, he was awarded the title, but not the profits. The electoral pact held and he was returned again unopposed 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 ...

. For much of the parliament, both MPs were caught up in a dispute with the Duke of Newcastle over depredations of royal deer in Sherwood Forest. 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. ...

, Willoughby virtually handed over his seat at Nottinghamshire to

William Levinz William Levinz (25 July 1625 – 3 March 1698), doctor of medicine and Regius Professor of Greek at Oxford University, was President of St John's College, Oxford, from 1673 until 1698. Life He was the son of William Levinz of Evenley, near ...

, and was returned as Tory MP for Newark. He was listed as a 'worthy patriot' who had detected the mismanagements of the previous ministry. He was not listed as a member of the October Club, but eventually became a member of the drinking club 'Board of Brothers'. In 1711, when the post of Warden of Sherwood Forest became vacant, Willoughby applied to Robert Harley, but Harley took the post for himself. However Harley raised Willoughby to the Peerage as

in on 1 January 1712 to increase Tory support in the House of Lords, and Willoughby vacated his seat in the House of Commons. Middleton continued to be at the centre of Tory politics in Nottinghamshire and was an effective political agent. He supported the election of his eldest son in 1713. In 1714, he was appointed

High Steward of the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield The High Steward of Sutton Coldfield was an office relating to the government of the town of Sutton Coldfield, Warwickshire, England. History Prior to the Royal Charter of 1528 Walter Devereux, Lord Ferrers of Chartley held the office of High S ...

. In 1728 he was listed as one of the subscribers to the '' Cyclopaedia'' of

Ephraim Chambers Ephraim Chambers ( – 15 May 1740) was an English writer and encyclopaedist, who is primarily known for producing the '' Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences''. Chambers' ''Cyclopædia'' is known as the original source ...

Death and legacy

Middleton died on 7 April 1729 and was buried at Middleton. He left two sons: * Francis Willoughby, 2nd Baron Middleton (1692–1758) * The Hon Thomas Willoughby (11 June 1694 – 2 December 1742), married Elizabeth Southby and had issue * The Hon Rothwell Willoughby (1696 - 15 April 1752) His widow died in 1736.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Willoughby, Thomas 1st Baron Middleton Middleton, Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton, Thomas Willoughby, 1st Baron Middleton Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Alumni of St Catharine's College, Cambridge Fellows of the Royal Society High sheriffs of Nottinghamshire High sheriffs of Lincolnshire English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 Thomas 1