Thomas Winnington (31 December 169623 April 1746), of Stanford Court, Stanford on Teme. Worcestershire, was an English Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. ...

from 1726 to 1746.

Biography

Winnington was the second, but eldest surviving, son of

Salwey Winnington Salwey Winnington (28 August 1666 – 6 November 1736), of Stanford Court, Worcestershire, was an English landowner and Member of Parliament (MP). Winnington was the eldest son of Sir Francis Winnington, a lawyer and politician who was Solicito ...

of Stanford Court,

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 ...

for

Bewdley Bewdley ( pronunciation) is a town and civil parish in the Wyre Forest District in Worcestershire, England on the banks of the River Severn. It is in the Severn Valley west of Kidderminster and southwest of Birmingham. It lies on the River Sev ...

, and his wife Anne Foley, daughter of Thomas Foley, MP, of Witley Court, Worcestershire. He was grandson of

Sir Francis Winnington Sir Francis Winnington (7 November 1634 – 1 May 1700) was an English lawyer and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1677 and 1698. He became Solicitor-General to King Charles II. Biography Winnington entered t ...

, who had been Solicitor General in the 1670s. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1713. He was admitted to

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1714. Winnington entered Parliament at a by-election on 31 January 1726 as a Tory

for

Droitwich Droitwich Spa (often abbreviated to Droitwich ) is an historic spa town in the Wychavon district in northern Worcestershire, England, on the River Salwarpe. It is located approximately south-west of Birmingham and north-east of Worcester. The ...

, but very soon after became a Whig and supported the Administration. He was returned unopposed again in 1727 and 1734. At the

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. * February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...

returned for Droitwich and also elected in a contest for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

(a more prestigious constituency), and he chose to sit for Worcester in what turned out to be his last Parliament. A supporter of the Prime Minister

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, (26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745; known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole) was a British statesman and Whig politician who, as First Lord of the Treasury, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader ...

, Winnington was made a

Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was n ...

in 1730, and served as a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...

from 1736 to 1742; in 1741 he was made a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council (PC), officially His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a privy council, formal body of advisers to the British monarchy, sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its membership mainly comprises Politics of the United King ...

and became

Cofferer of the Household The Cofferer of the Household was formerly an office in the English and British Royal Household. Next in rank to the Comptroller, the holder paid the wages of some of the servants above and below stairs, was a member of the Board of Green Cloth, ...

. When

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as 3rd Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who ...

became Prime Minister in 1743, he appointed Winnington

Paymaster General of the Forces The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration of the Monarchy to King Charles II, and was responsible for part of the financing of the British Army, in ...

, the post he himself had held in the previous administration (although unlike Pelham, Winnington was not accorded a seat in the

Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filing ...

); he held this post for the remaining two-and-a-half years of his life. Winnington purchased the shares of the elder sisters in the family estate of Stanford (which his grandfather Sir Francis had acquired for the family through his second marriage), and in 1674 he bought the leasehold interest under the crown of the manor of Bewdley.

Family

In 1719, Winnington married Love Reade, daughter of Sir James Reade, Bt. of

Brocket Hall Brocket Hall is a neo-classical country house set in a large park at the western side of the urban area of Welwyn Garden City in Hertfordshire, England. The estate is equipped with two golf courses and seven smaller listed buildings, apart fro ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

. They had no children. Winnington became the lover of

Etheldreda Townshend Audrey Etheldreda Townshend born Audrey Etheldreda Harrison became Lady Lynn and later Etheldreda, Viscountess Townshend (1708 – 5 March 1788) was an English society hostess. Life She was born in 1708 and she was known as "Etheldreda". Her par ...

in 1742 and it was said that she was the one in charge. The Stanford Court estate subsequently passed to his cousin who became

Sir Edward Winnington, 1st Baronet Sir Edward Winnington, 1st Baronet (c. 1728 – 9 December 1791) was the son of Edward Winnington of Broadway, son of Francis Winnington of Broadway, son of Sir Francis Winnington and younger brother of Francis Winnington. Upon the death of ...

. The Elizabethan mansion of

Stanford Court Stanford-on-Teme is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanford with Orleton, in the Malvern Hills district in the county of Worcestershire, England. In 1931 the parish had a population of 144. History Stanford Court, a Gra ...

was burnt on 5 December 1882, and the valuable books and manuscripts in the old library were destroyed. cites Hist. MSS. Comm. 1st Rep. app. pp. 53–5. Stanford Court was rebuilt and remained the family seat until sold by Sir Francis Winnington, 6th Baronet in 1949.

Notes

References

* Concise Dictionary of National Biography * * *
Winnington genealogy

External links

Portrait of Winnington at the National Portrait Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winnington, Thomas 1696 births 1746 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Worcester Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People educated at Westminster School, London British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 People from Malvern Hills District Politicians from Worcestershire