T H E H I S T O RY O F PA R L I A M E N T

THEHOUSE OF COMMONS

–

Eveline Cruickshanks,Stuart Handleyand D.W. Hayton

IIIMEMBERS

A–F

PUBLISHED FOR THE HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT TRUSTBY CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS

2002

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Cruickshanks, Eveline.The history of the parliament : the House of Commons, – / Eveline

Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley, andD.W.Hayton.v. ; cm.

Contents: v. . Members A–FISBN

. Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons – History. . Great Britain – Politicsand government – –. I. Handley, Stuart. II. Hayton, David, –

JN.C

.��–dc -

five-volume set

Contents

List of contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . page vi

Editorial note . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii

List of abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii

MEMBERSA–F . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

v

ABERCROMBY, Alexander (–), ofGlassaugh, Fordyce, Banff.

S –B –

b. Nov. , rd but st surv. s. of AlexanderAbercromby (o.s. d.v.p. of John Abercromby ofGlassaugh) by Katherine, da. of Sir Robert Dunbar, MP[S], of Grangehill, Elgin. m. by , Helen (d. aft.), da. and coh. of George Meldrum (d. ) ofCrombie, Marnoch, Banff, minister of Glass, Banff, s.da. suc. gdfa. .1

Commr. justiciary for Highlands [S] , ; lt. Ft. (R. Scots Fusiliers) , capt. , lt.-col. (half-pay) ; commr. Equivalent [S] –; a.d.c. toDuke of Marlborough (John Churchill†) in LowCountries ; lt. gov. Fort William –?d.2

MP [S] Banffshire –.Burgess, Edinburgh .3

Falling into dependence on his Banffshire neigh-bour Lord Seafield (later th Earl of Findlater),Abercromby profited rather less than might have beenexpected from his patron’s extended ministerial careerunder Queen Anne. But, although occasionally resent-ful in private, he always performed his public duty asbefitted one unflatteringly described by an outsideobserver as Seafield’s ‘creature’ and praised by theEarl’s agent as ‘the surest friend . . . that my lord has’.Descended from a younger son of Sir AlexanderAbercromby of Birkenbog, grand falconer to KingJames , Abercromby had evidently inherited nostrong religious or political principles, his immediatefamily background suggesting instead a survivor’spragmatism. In his father-in-law, a Presbyterianminister, had eventually been deprived after a lengthyperiod of conformity, but at the same time his ownfather and grandfather were demonstrating their pli-ability by taking the test; and each served both James and William as commissioners of supply for theircounty. Having entered into possession of theGlassaugh estate while still a boy, Abercromby com-plained soon after coming of age that his finances were

in ‘great disorder’, a state of affairs for which his tutor,Sir James Abercromby of Birkenbog, may well havebeen at least partly responsible, since Birkenbog’smanagement of his own property left something to bedesired. Abercromby himself was no model of sobri-ety, for in January he was fined by the local Kirkauthorities for ‘scandalous conduct’, but he took careto make himself an agreeable guest at Cullen House,providing the rd Earl of Findlater with books andobliging companionship. Through Findlater’s influ-ence he was nominated to the commission of the peacefor Banffshire, and the commission of judiciary for theHighlands. Slower in coming was the salaried positionin hope of which he had pledged his ‘entire engage-ment’ to Seafield’s family. Advised in to ‘changethe plough for the sword’, he set his mind on a militarycommission, but had to wait until February before he was made a lieutenant in the Royal ScotsFusiliers through Seafield’s intercession, as part ofthat general gratification of the Court grouping inScottish politics by which the ministry sought to pavethe way for the Union.4

Abercromby was brought in by Seafield to thevacant parliamentary commissionership for Banffshirein in order to give a vote for Union. This he did,adhering to a straight Court line in all divisions, exceptfor two unimportant absences. In the middle of thesession he was able to purchase a captaincy for £,,and to make doubly sure of him, the ministry hadincluded him in the Scottish civil list for a pension of£, though whether this sum was ever paid must beopen to question. Afterwards he was appointed to thecommission on the Equivalent, again at Seafield’srequest. Predictably, he was also one of the Court con-tingent selected to represent Scotland in the firstParliament of Great Britain.5

Although the Equivalent commissionership re-mained disappointingly unremunerative, Abercrombygave no indication of dissatisfaction with the Courtduring his first session at Westminster. Indeed, untilhis departure for Scotland on active military service in

M E M B E R SA – F

mid-March , he was surprisingly forward forsomeone so inexperienced. On Feb. he toldagainst a Junto- and Squadrone-inspired motion toalter the order of payments from the Equivalent; andhis remaining appointment of significance, on Mar., was to the drafting committee for a bill designedto counter the invasion threat by absolving Highlandclansmen from their obligations to Jacobite chieftains.6

Abercromby was not only returned on Seafield’sinterest for Banffshire at the election, heacknowledged that the decision on whether he shouldstand at all belonged to his patron. Seafield was able toboast of him as one of ‘my friends . . . who, I hope, willserve her Majesty faithfully in the Parliament’. He wasentrusted with carrying to Flanders the address ofthanks from the House to the Duke of Marlborough,obtaining a leave of absence for this purpose on Jan.. He took the opportunity to solicit the Duke inperson for military advancement, but to no avail.Returning to Westminster, he was nominated to draft abill for the more effectual prohibition of wine importson Mar. , and told on Mar. against receivingthe report of the Earl of Lindsey’s (Robert Bertie,Lord Willoughby de Eresby*) estate bill, something ofa party cause since Lindsey’s turn to the Whigs, andthus a sign that Abercromby, as would be expected,was staying with the Court against the Junto andSquadrone. On Apr. he told against the motion for acommittee of the whole on the African Company bill,signalling his disapproval as a Scot for an initiativethat appeared prejudicial to the equality of tradepromised under the Union. Included in the renewedcommission of the Equivalent in , he continued tosupport the Court and voted for the impeachment ofDr Sacheverell in . By this time he had set his eyeson another plum, the estate of James Douglas, anAberdonian who had died intestate. Douglas’ illegiti-macy meant that, according to Scottish law, the prop-erty came to the crown, and it was customary in suchcases for the discoverer to be granted either the wholeestate or a substantial portion. Claiming to have ‘dis-covered’ the case, and citing his own ‘good services’ tothe ministry as additional justification, Abercrombyput in his request in March . Initially, Seafieldobtained a promise from Lord Treasurer Godolphin(Sidney†) that a grant would be made, but before thebarons of the Scottish exchequer could send the nec-essary report a rival claimant emerged in the shape ofthe burgh council of Aberdeen. Exploiting the politi-cal leverage they derived from the imminent dissolu-tion of Parliament, councillors enlisted in their causesuch powerful advocates as the Earl of Mar andthereby succeeded in blocking prompt action, so that

for Abercromby, abroad with his regiment, thesummer of dragged by without the anticipatedgratification from the Treasury. Moreover, Seafield’sinfluence suffered considerably with the change inministry. The best that could be done for Abercrombywas to postpone a final judgment on the Douglas estateuntil another round of representations might bemade.7

Abercromby’s behaviour in the Parliament of ,to which he was returned unopposed with Seafield’sblessing, faithfully reflected the political manoeuvringof his patron, who, starting from a position of loyaltyto Godolphin, in due course made his peace with thenew ministers. Abercromby appears as a Whig in the‘Hanover list’, but as an episcopal Tory in the analysisof the Scottish returns by Richard Dongworth, epis-copalian chaplain to the Duchess of Buccleuch.Neither classification bears much resemblance toreality. The first clue to Abercromby’s political align-ment in the new House was his vote on Feb. infavour of the Squadrone Member, Mungo Graham,over the disputed election for Kinross-shire. This fol-lowed a fortnight’s leave, granted on Jan. , andpreceded a further prolonged absence on the Conti-nent from May onwards, which seems to have lastedthe entire campaigning season. According toAbercromby himself, he had intended to rejoin histroops earlier still, but ‘my Lord Seafield, MrBoscawen [Hugh, II*], and some others of my LordGodolphin’s friends . . . advised my stay’ to performhis duty in defence of the old ministry. When at last hedid get away he applied himself immediately toMarlborough, armed with earnest recommendationsfrom Seafield on his behalf. In reply, the Duke gavelittle more than promises: ‘you may assure LordSeafield’, Marlborough told his Duchess, ‘that when-ever it is in my power I shall be glad to serve CaptainAbercromby, for I know him to be a very honest and agood-tempered man’. All the Duke could do wasappoint Abercromby as one of his aides-de-camp, butwhat was required was something altogether moresubstantial, especially since it now seemed less andless likely that the gift of Douglas’ estate would mate-rialize. In desperation Abercromby turned toSeafield:

As my endeavouring to serve his Grace in Parliament orotherwise was upon your lordship’s account, so it must beby your lordship’s interest with him that I can expectanything. I therefore beg your lordship will write to himand use what arguments you think proper, in which youmay represent the expense I have been at, as also mylosing the gift of bastardy.

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This letter also contained an ambiguous statementabout promises made to him, via one CaptainMiddleton, of being ‘better protected last year if Iwould join the new party’. Although in Scottish termi-nology the Squadrone was often dubbed the ‘newparty’ it seems more likely (on the assumption that theArgylls’ client, John Middleton II*, was the go-between) that Abercromby was referring to the newScottish Court Tory interest supporting the Harleyministry.8

Returning to London for the beginning of the nextsession, Abercromby made a last effort to squeezefrom Marlborough the performance of the variouspromises the Duke and the former lord treasurer hadmade. Having voted with the Whigs on Dec. infavour of the ‘No Peace without Spain’ motion, he dis-patched a letter two days later to one of Marlborough’sconfidants, declaring that unless he received somefinancial relief he would be obliged to quit London forhis Scottish estates, such was the dismal appearance ofhis affairs. He concluded with the reproach that‘besides my expense and attendance my zeal and fidel-ity to his Grace’s interest has made me refuse fromothers what I would [have] been proud of acceptingfrom his hands’. Subsequent events were to expose thelevel of disingenuousness in these remarks. As far backas April there had been contact betweenAbercromby and Robert Harley*, and an assurancegiven by the new chief minister that the affair ofDouglas’ estate would be settled in Abercromby’sfavour. Nothing had happened, but towards the end ofDecember, in the middle of the crisis over the Duke ofHamilton’s patent and the peace terms, with Harleyhunting every available Scottish supporter in theLords, Seafield (now Earl of Findlater) renewed solic-itations on his client’s behalf. He wrote to Harley (nowLord Treasurer Oxford) to recommend Abercrombyto his consideration:

He is very willing to attend the Queen’s service inParliament and observe your lordship’s directions ineverything, for this I have earnestly recommended tohim, but, having attended all the Parliaments and servedall the campaigns since the Union without any assistance,he writes that he must return home unless your lordshipdo something for him . . . If your lordship do for him hewill be very faithful to you and useful.

Harley must have responded with more promises, foron Jan. Abercromby wrote to Findlater toassure him that he was ‘fully resolved to support theUnion’ and that he had ‘satisfied my lord treasurer ofmy inclination to serve the Queen and ministry ineverything except what concerns private persons whoare my old friends’. Absence from the House, rather

than support for the government, ensued whenAbercromby obtained two months’ leave on Jan. Hetherefore took no part in proceedings over the contro-versial Scottish Toleration Act. In the session heopposed the ongoing campaign by Sir AlexanderCumming* and Thomas Smith II* to regulate proce-dures for apportioning land tax in the convention ofroyal burghs, telling on Apr. against an addi-tional clause in the land tax bill for ‘a rule whereby totax the royal burghs of Scotland’. In this he was fol-lowing the wishes of his patron, a pattern of behaviourequally evident during the malt tax crisis and the cam-paign to dissolve the Union. Abercromby told on May against the obnoxious clause which charged maltproduced in Scotland at d. a bushel, and attended themeeting of Scottish Members on May calling forunited action with Scottish peers. He acted as unoffi-cial clerk at the ensuing meeting of lords and com-moners where the proposal for a motion to dissolve theUnion was broached and Findlater was named as thepeer to introduce it in Parliament. Then, with hispatron and the rest of the Scots courtiers, he returnedto administration over the issue of the French com-mercial treaty, voting in favour of the bill confirmingits th and th articles, both at the second reading on June and again at the engrossment on the th.9

In spite of his loyalty to Findlater and Oxford,Abercromby was no better off financially: the Douglasestate grant still hung fire, and his salary as anEquivalent commissioner was hopelessly in arrears.By May his domestic affairs were moving towardsa crisis. His wife delivered an ultimatum that if no pre-ferment was forthcoming in the current session hewould not be able to entertain the prospect of anotherexpensive journey to Westminster, and might evenhave to ‘sell his plate next Whitsunday’. Findlater,who had already spent substantial amounts of his ownmoney in propping up Abercromby’s estate, throughthe purchase of land and the redeeming of wadsets,felt obliged to intervene once more, with an advance of£,. ‘I cannot see Glassaugh in distress’, he wrote.But not even this sum seemed likely to afford morethan temporary relief, for the problems were deep-set.One of the Earl’s local agents reported:

We have had a conference with Glassaugh anent his affairsand find the half and much more is gone. I am heartilysorry I have occasion to tell you this but there is no helpfor it but sell he must. He imputed a great deal of his lossto his serving my lord, which he [Findlater] is not now in acondition to repay by getting anything done for him . . .

What Findlater’s assistance was able to achieve was tocalm Mrs Abercromby’s fears and keep the family

A A

afloat until the general election in which, with strongbacking from his patron, Abercromby overawed a per-sistent challenger and secured another unopposedreturn. But Abercromby evidently failed to keep hispromise to ‘live upon his pay’ and the year ended withFindlater expending more money to satisfyAbercromby’s creditors and casting around desper-ately for some item of patronage on which to base alonger-term rescue. Several times Findlater applied toOxford, pledging that Abercromby would ‘serve withgreat fidelity’ in the Commons, but received in returnno more than repetitions of the old promise that £would be given of the Douglas estate.10

Abercromby’s ultimate dependence was thereforeon the lord treasurer, and with his re-election newlysecured he approached Oxford directly:

Being unanimously chosen, which I flatter myself I shallalways be in this shire while I think it convenient or desir-able, I take this opportunity to assure your lordship that inthe Parliament you have not one more entirely devoted toyour service than I shall be on all occasions and in every-thing to the utmost of my power. So you may acquaint theEarl of Findlater when my being in London can do youany service you shall find a ready compliance to testifywhat I do so sincerely profess, and since my LordFindlater informed me how mindful you were of me aftermy departure from London, and the promises you werepleased to make there, I beg you to let the Earl or me knowfrom whom I should receive your lordship’s commands . . .

Still nothing was forthcoming, and after making thejourney down to Westminster Abercromby triedagain. In mid-April he sent Oxford a memorial settingout his claim to a grant from the Douglas property andreminding him of the many previous assurances,

which . . . encouraged me, contrary to my own andfriends’ inclinations, to be at the expense of beingreturned this Parliament, notwithstanding I had ruinedmyself and family by the expense of attending, and byclose adhering to every measure I judged most agreeableto your lordship forfeited all manner of reputation andexpectation of friendship from those who had done meservice formerly and still declared their willingness whenable . . . it was upon the Earl of Findlater’s call, and thelate assurances he had from your lordship that I came up,and . . . as I have so will I strive to the utmost of my powerto support every measure that may be agreeable andacceptable to your lordship; and lastly, had it not beenupon the faith of these promises I could not have raisedmoney to have brought me up, far less does my circum-stances allow me to bear the charges of attending, and bytrusting thereto both I and my numerous family must bereduced to great straits unless made good.

Not even these heartfelt pleas had any effect, a failurewhich may have helped to harden Abercromby’s

outlook. Already in Lord Polwarth’s analysis of theScottish returns he had been marked as a Hanoverian;and a tellership on Apr. in favour of aSquadrone supporter over a Tory rival in the disputedelection for Anstruther Easter Burghs was followed on May by a vote for Robert Walpole II’s wreckingmotion to extend the scope of the schism bill to cover‘popery’. He was later described as a Whig in theWorsley list and, despite continued professions ofservice to the lord treasurer, may well have sided fre-quently with opposition. Early in June he had warnedOxford that, unless ‘you will make good your repeatedpromises both last year and this’, he would be forced toreturn to Scotland. The fact that he remained in atten-dance may indicate that at last he had penetrated thetreasurer’s defences. His contributions to the businessof the House give no hint of his attitude to the minis-try, since they dealt with matters of personal orScottish interest. For example, on June, on thethird reading of the bill to discharge the commission-ers of the Equivalent of the money they had alreadydisbursed, he led the opposition to a clause proposedby George Lockhart* and others, which would haveobliged the commissioners to account for the surplusmoneys granted, in accordance with their legislativeauthority, to assist the wool-producing areas ofScotland. Having been the principal speaker againstthe clause, he told against it. Then on July he was ateller again, with fellow Scotsman George Yeaman,against an amendment to the soap and paper duties billwhich concerned the leather export bounty.11

Abercromby welcomed the Hanoverian succession,being one of the signatories to the proclamation ofGeorge at St. James’s on Aug. ; and inNovember he presented a loyal address fromBanffshire. Findlater secured his re-election the nextyear, and thereafter he voted consistently with theCourt. After recovering financial solvency, he lostheavily in the South Sea and Mississippi Bubbles andwas reduced once more to dejection and dependence.Petitions for preferment flowed from his pen. Someminor relief came through inclusion on the half-paylist, and a belated appointment as lieutenant-governorof Fort William. His sons were also provided for: oneas a professional soldier, the other, an artist, with a lifepatent as King’s limner in Scotland. Still a ‘perfectfriend’ of Findlater, he followed the Earl into theArgyll connexion and at the election, althoughstanding down himself, actively assisted Lord Ilay’sburgh managers. He died on Dec. .12

1Hist. Scot. Parl. ; C. D. Abercromby, Fam. of Abercromby,–; Diary of Brodie of Brodie (Spalding Club), , , ;

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SRO Indexes, xviii. , ; Shaw and Gordon, Hist. Province ofMoray (), iii. ; Recs. Co. Banff (New Spalding Club), .2CSP Dom. –, p. ; –, p. ; Boyer, Anne Annals, vi.; Cal. Treas. Bks. xxiii. ; xxix. ; xxxi. ; info. from Dr P.W. J. Riley on members of Scot. parl.; Cal. Treas. Pprs. –, p.. 3Scot. Rec. Soc. lxii. . 4HMC Portland, x. ; SRO, Seafieldmss GD///, John Philp to William Lorimer, May; GD///, Findlater to [–], Nov. ;GD///, same to Lorimer, []; Abercromby, –;Diary of Brodie, ; Reg. PC Scotland, –, pp. –, –;–, p. ; APS, viii. ; ix. ; Seafield Corresp. –, ,–, , , ; Annals of Banff (New Spalding Club), ii. ;Recs. Co. Banff, ; Hist. Scot. Parl. ; Fraser, Melvilles, ii. .5Fraser, ; info. from Dr Riley; Riley, Union, ; Stowe , f.; Cal. Treas. Bks. xxii. ; Riley, Eng. Ministers and Scotland,; R. Walcott, Pol. Early th Cent. . 6Cal. Treas. Bks. xxii.; Seafield Corresp. , –.7Seafield Corresp. –; SeafieldLetters, ; Marlborough–Godolphin Corresp. –, ,–; HMC th Rep. III, , ; Cal. Treas. Bks. xxiv. , ,; Cal. Treas. Pprs. –, pp. , –, –; HMCPortland, x. . 8G. Holmes, Pol. in Age of Anne, –; SHR, lx.; SRO, Montrose mss GD///a–b, Graham toMontrose, Feb. ; Add. , f. ; Marlborough–GodolphinCorresp. –; Seafield mss GD////, Abercromby toSeafield, Sept. . 9Stowe , f. ; Add. , memo. fromAbercromby, Apr. ; , Findlater to Oxford, Dec.; Seafield mss GD////, Abercromby to Findlater, Jan. ; NLS, ms , f. ; Aberdeen Univ. Lib. Duff House(Montcoffer) mss /, ‘Resolution of the Commons to Call aMeeting of the Lords’, [] May ; Lockhart Pprs. i. ; Parlty.Hist. i. . 10Cal. Treas. Bks. –, pp. , ; Seafield mssGD///, –, –, , , William Lorimer to[Findlater], Feb., Sept. , John to William Lorimer, May, John Philp to same, May , Abercromby to [Findlater], Sept. , John Carnegy* to [same], Oct. , Findlater toWilliam Lorimer, Nov. ; GD///–, , same tosame, Apr., May , John Lorimer to same, May ;GD////, Abercromby to [Findlater], Oct. ;GD///, John Philp to [Findlater?], n.d.;GD///, Findlater to William Lorimer, []; HMCPortland, x. , ; v. . 11Add. , Abercromby to Oxford,Oct. ; , memo. from Abercromby, Apr. ; HMCPortland, x. , , –; Lockhart Letters ed. Szechi, .12Boyer, Pol. State, viii. –; London Gazette, – Nov. ;Mystics of the North-East ed. Henderson (rd Spalding Club),–; Cal. Treas. Pprs. –, p. ; J. S. Shaw,Management ofScot. Soc. –.

D. W. H.

ABERCROMBY, James (d. ).

D B Jan.– Sept.

illegit. s. of William Douglas Hamilton, rd Duke ofHamilton [S]. Prob. unm. cr. Bt. Mar. .1

Ensign Ft. (R. Scots) , half-pay , capt. ,brevet maj. , lt.-col. –Dec. , Mar. –,brevet col. Nov. ; capt. and lt.-col. Coldstream Gds.Dec. –Mar. ; a.d.c. to Earl of Orkney–c.; town maj. Dunkirk –?; commr.inspecting demolition Dunkirk fortifications –.2

The illegitimate son of the rd Duke of Hamilton,Abercromby made his army career in the Royal Scots,the regiment commanded by his half-brother, George,

st Earl of Orkney. As Orkney’s aide-de-camp, hefought at Blenheim and Malplaquet, his deeds on thebattlefield winning him a baronetcy. His brief appear-ance in Parliament was directly owing to Orkney andhis elder brother, the th Duke of Hamilton.Abercromby was returned unanimously for DysartBurghs at a by-election in , but only after someconvoluted manoeuvres. In the House Abercrombyvoted with the Court in order to earn the prefermenthe repeatedly solicited from the Duke of Marlborough(John Churchill†). According to Lockhart, he voted forthe impeachment of Dr Sacheverell, notwithstandingthe conflicting evidence in contemporary lists.3

Abercromby did not seek re-election in , andalthough he contemplated standing for Dysart orLinlithgow Burghs in , in the event contestedneither seat. His professional fortunes, however, pros-pered under the Tories, as in the summer of hewas appointed town major of Dunkirk under its newgovernor, John Hill*, a position that proved safe evenagainst Hamilton’s unexpected death at the end of theyear. Having taken responsibility for the evacuation ofFrench forces and the installation of an allied garrison,he subsequently supervised the withdrawal of thosetroops and the destruction of the fortress, accumulat-ing in the process considerable arrears of pay andallowance. A memorial in his behalf was submitted tothe Treasury in July and two years later he wasstill in pursuit of over £, due to him. In hewas obliged to dispose of his regiment to ease these‘hardships’ and was granted £, as royal bounty totide him over. Abercromby died s.p. ‘at his habitationin Charing Cross’ on Nov. .4

1SRO, Hamilton mss GD//, Orkney to Hamilton, May . 2Cal. Treas. Bks. xxvii. ; xxxi. , ; AilesburyMems. –. 3Boyer, Pol. State, xxviii. ; EHR, xix. , ;SRO, Montrose mss GD///, Mungo Graham* toMontrose, Dec. ; Lockhart Mems. ed. Szechi, ; Add., ff. , . 4HMC Portland, iv. –; v. , ; Boyer, Pol.State, iv. ; Bolingbroke Corresp. ii. –; Cal. Treas. Bks. xxviii.–; Cal. Treas. Pprs. –, pp. –; –, pp. ,–; Add. , ff. –; The Gen. n.s. vi. .

D. W. H.

ABNEY, Sir Edward (–), of WillesleyHall, Leics. and Portugal Row, Lincoln’s InnFields.

L –

b. Feb. , nd but st surv. s. of James Abney of I.Temple and Willesley, sheriff of Derbys. , by st w.Jane, da. of Edward Mainwaring of Whitmore, Staffs.;bro. of Sir Thomas Abney*. educ. Ashby-de-la-Zouche(Mr Porter) and Measham (Mr Houlton) schs.; Christ’s,

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Camb. , BA –, MA , LL.D. , fellow–?. m. () July , Damaris (d.), da. ofThomas Andrewes, fellow of Christ’s, Camb., s. (pres.d.v.p.) da.; () Dec. , Judith, da. and coh. ofPeter Barr, merchant, of London, s. ( d.v.p.). Kntd. Aug. ; suc. fa. .1

Clerk in Chancery –; commr. of public accts.–.2

Freeman, Leicester ; Fishmongers’ Co. .3

A branch of the Abney family had been establishedat Willesley since at least the early th century.Abney’s father had participated in the Royalistdefence of Ashby Castle in . Before entering theHouse at the age of almost , Edward Abney’s careerwas devoted to civil law. Initially he pursued an aca-demic existence at Cambridge, having been allowed toretain his fellowship at Christ’s after marrying thestepdaughter of the college’s master, Dr RalphCudworth, the eminent Platonist theologian. Until his elder brother was still living and conse-quently the retention of this post was clearly of impor-tance, especially as his marriage brought him noproperty. He was re-elected a fellow again in , butin the year following obtained a highly lucrative placeas one of the six clerks in Chancery.4

In Abney, a Presbyterian, stood forLeicestershire but was defeated. It was rumouredduring the electoral preparations early in that hewas to stand at Tamworth but in fact he stood forLeicester where initially his chances were considereddoubtful, the corporation being dominated byChurchmen, ‘the majority and best party’. He wasreturned, however, after a busy campaign in which hehad the support of the earls of Stamford andHuntingdon, he being on particularly good terms withthe latter as a family friend and legal adviser. Classedas a Whig by Lord Carmarthen (Sir ThomasOsborne†) in March , he was noted in RobertHarley’s* list, compiled c. April , as a Court sup-porter. Grascome also classed him as such in a slightlylater list. By Abney had obviously achieved suffi-cient prominence in the House, presumably throughhis committee work, to obtain election on Apr. with votes as one of the seven commissioners ofaccounts for –, with a salary of £ p.a. Itwould appear that his candidacy was promoted by theRose Club of which he was a member. He was notreappointed in , and missed nomination in coming th in the ballot on Feb. On Apr. hewas one of MPs selected for the joint committee ofboth Houses to receive evidence from Sir ThomasCooke* regarding bribes from the Old East IndiaCompany. Cooke’s evidence led to the Commons’

decision on the th to impeach the Duke of Leeds,and Abney was put on the committee charged to initi-ate the proceedings which were shortly afterwardsaborted with the close of the session. Evidence forAbney’s pro-Court stance can be found for the nextParliament to which he was re-elected in . InJanuary he was forecast as a Court supporter onthe proposed council of trade; he took the Associationat the end of February, voted in late March in favour offixing the price of guineas at s. and on Nov. sup-ported the attainder of Sir John Fenwick. On Feb. he was elected in the ballot for a new commissionof accounts, coming second with votes, but theappointing bill failed to pass.5

Abney stood down at the election when he waslisted in about September as a former Court supporter.He died at his seat, Willesley Hall, on Jan. ,having been blind for the last years of his life. Indrawing up his will in he excluded his eldest sur-viving, but mentally unfit, son, leaving his estates inDerbyshire, Leicestershire and Staffordshire to hisyoungest son Thomas, later a judge of the commonpleas.6

1Nichols, Leics. iii. ; J. P. Yeatman, Feudal Hist. Derbys. v(),p. ; The Gen. v. . 2Chancery Procs. – (Index Lib. xxix),i. p. xxii. 3CJ, xi. , ; Reg. Leicester Freemen, i. ; GuildhallLib. mss /. 4Yeatman, v(), pp. , ; Trinity, Dublin, Lyons(King) mss /, Abney to Abp. King, Aug. ; CSPDom. –, p. . 5Parl. Hist. v. ; Bath mss at LongleatHouse, Thynne pprs. , ff. –; Huntington Lib. Hastings mssHA, HA, Thomas Piddocke to Earl of Huntingdon, Feb., Abney to same, Mar. ; Hereford and Worcester RO(Hereford), Harley mss C/; HMC Kenyon, . 6The Gen. v.; n.s. vii. ; Boyer, Pol. State, xxxv. ; PCC Brook; Foss,Judges, vii. .

A. A. H.

ABNEY, Sir Thomas (–), of StokeNewington, Mdx. and Theobalds, Herts.

L (Dec.)–

b. Jan. , th but rd surv. s. of James Abney of I.Temple and Willesley, Leics., sheriff of Derbys. , byhis st w. Jane, da. of Edward Mainwaring of Whitmore,Staffs.; bro. of Sir Edward Abney*. educ. Loughborough,Leics. m. () lic. Aug. , Sarah (d. ), da. of Rev.Joseph Caryl, of Bury Street, London, ch. d.v.p.(at leasts. da.); () Aug. , Mary (d. ), da. of JohnGunston of Stoke Newington, s. d.v.p. da. Kntd. Nov. .1

Freeman, Fishmongers’ Co. , asst. , primewarden ; common councilman, London –,alderman , sheriff , ld. mayor –.

Commr. taking subscriptions to Bank of Eng. ,, Greenwich Hosp. ; dir. Bank of Eng. –d.

A A

(with statutory intervals); trustee, receiving loan toEmperor .

Manager, Common Fund ; member, NewEngland Co. by ; pres. St. Thomas’ Hosp. –d.2

Abney gained prominence as a leading spokesmanfor Dissenters, his piety leading his biographer todeclare that ‘the honour and service of God were hisaim and business in life’. As the youngest son hemoved to the capital to establish himself in trade, andquickly enjoyed a ‘considerable increase’ in fortune.He also became an important figure in Nonconformistcircles, attending the Silver Street congregations ofPresbyterian ministers Thomas Jacombe and JohnHowe. He also married a daughter of the ejectedIndependent divine Joseph Caryl, thereby provingthat he was ‘of a catholic spirit, and loved all trueChristians rightly holding Christ the head’. However,he played no active role in the London corporationuntil after the Revolution, his acceptance of which canbe gauged by his willingness to lend the government£ in .3

In October Abney demonstrated his supportfor his co-religionists by contributing a £ subscrip-tion to the Nonconformist Common Fund, an organ-ization of which he later became a gentleman manager.Under William he sought rapid promotion within theLondon corporation, briefly serving as a commoncouncilman for St. Peter’s Cornhill before becomingan alderman in December . Only seven monthslater he was chosen as sheriff in an uncontested poll,and while serving in that office he received a knight-hood. His standing within the City was furtherattested when he was appointed in June as one ofthe commissioners to take subscriptions for the Bankof England. He was duly elected one of its foundingdirectors, and served intermittently in that capacityfor the rest of his life. Another government scheme toreceive his backing was the loan to circulate Exchequerbills, to which he subscribed £ in May . Healso invested in the East India trade, but by the springof had sold his £, stake in the OldCompany.4

In September Abney strongly contested theCity’s mayoral election, but although one of the twocandidates to be returned to the court of aldermen, hefailed to gain the chair. He stood again the followingyear, only to find himself at the centre of a bitter partydispute. His main rival on this occasion was the Tory(Sir) Charles Duncombe*, who topped the poll offreemen with votes more than Abney. However, inthe court of aldermen Sir Thomas achieved victory by votes to , a result which infuriated the CityTories, who had been confident of gaining the major-

ity there. Amid ‘great animosities’ in the capital, SirThomas Cooke* led a campaign to remove Abney, butall Tory efforts to undermine his election provedunsuccessful. At that time Abney was actually cited bythe Prussian envoy Frederick Bonet as a ‘bonAnglican’, but he did not sever his ties with theDissenters, qualifying himself for office by an occa-sional conformity to the Established Church.5

Abney’s mayoralty proved as eventful as his elec-tion, his attendance at Dissenting meetings causingrenewed controversy. Most significantly, he was citedas the catalyst for Daniel Defoe’s An Inquiry into theOccasional Conformity of Dissenters in Cases ofPreferment, which was prefaced by a direct challengeto John Howe to justify the presence of Non-conformists at Anglican services. The corporationitself was a scene of much party manoeuvring, andAbney was subjected to royal pressure when theLondon common council tried to petition the crownconcerning the imprisonment of the Kentish petition-ers. Although ‘very zealous for the cause of liberty inopposition to illegal and arbitrary power’, Abneybowed to the King’s wishes and gave his casting vote todefeat the council’s motion to address William. Laterthat year he led the City campaign to address the Kingto denounce Louis ’s recognition of the Pretender.‘Though much opposed by a number of his brethren’,Abney prevailed, and the wave of loyal addresses imi-tating London’s example was reported to have given‘new life to the Whig interest at home and abroad’. Hesubsequently gained much credit for this politicalinitiative, a ‘considerable person’ observing thatAbney ‘had done the King more service than if he hadgiven him thousands, or raised him a million ofmoney’.6

Such prominence led to Abney’s candidature at theCity election of November , which saw an over-whelming victory for the Whigs. Not content withthird place in the London poll, Abney also sought tothwart his Tory rival Sir Thomas Cooke at Colchester.In a letter to the aldermen of the Essex borough,Abney accused Cooke of opposing the recent Londonaddress, and then launched another attack ‘which wasworse than the former’. However, Cooke managed tosecure an uncontested return. Abney proved an incon-spicuous Member, his only significant contribution toCommons’ business resting with an appointment to thedrafting committee on a bill to employ the poor.Moreover, even though he clearly sat in the Whig inter-est, his name does not appear on any parliamentary list.The accession of Anne effectively ended his Commonscareer, since at the City election of July a resur-gent Tory party managed to oust him and two of his

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fellow Whigs. Shortly before the contest his standingin the capital had been weakened by his removal fromthe colonelcy of a London militia regiment.7

Although destined never to sit in the House again,Abney petitioned the Commons on Feb. inorder to defend one of his Hertfordshire propertiesagainst the threat of a bill to resume royal grants.Thereafter his contribution to public life was largelyconfined to City affairs, for he was appointed inFebruary as a trustee for receiving the loan to theEmperor, and three years later was chosen as a commis-sioner to enlarge the Bank’s stock. He remained true tohis political principles, voting in the Whig interest atthe City elections of and . Moreover, as astubborn defender of Dissenting rights he found theOccasional Conformity Act of ‘one of the greattrials’ of his life. He chose to worship privately ratherthan lose his City office, a decision taken in consulta-tion with ‘several persons of distinction’, and onewhich received the direct support of the Hanoveriancourt. Within the corporation he continued to play aprominent role, serving as acting mayor in September, and featuring in May as one of the sevenWhigs who withdrew from the court of aldermen todefer the aldermanic election of Tory JosephLawrence. A second clash with the Tory aldermen fol-lowed in December when Abney supported the publi-cation of an anti-papist sermon, arguing that ‘we are ina strange case now when no minister can preach againstpopery and slavery but it must be called sedition’.8

Having sacrificed public worship ‘that he might becapable of serving his country and securing the inter-est of King George’, Abney obviously welcomed theHanoverian succession. He did not gain office underthe new King, but remained politically active, attend-ing a meeting of a Whig club in December to planthe party’s strategy for the forthcoming commoncouncil elections. He was also said to have ‘madeseveral remonstrances to some of the ministers ofstate’ concerning the repeal of the OccasionalConformity Act, and once the campaign had achievedits goal in , he resumed his attendance atDissenting meetings. For the previous seven years hisreligious needs had been administered by the greatNonconformist hymnodist Isaac Watts, who for over years resided with the Abney family. Watts also ledthe widespread mourning which followed Abney’sdemise on Feb. , an event which was ‘universallylamented’. The Father of the City at his death, he waspraised as a wise and just magistrate who had encour-aged ‘all regular endeavours for the reformation ofmanners’. Moreover, his reputation for philanthropy‘without distinction of parties’ had evidently earned

him much respect. St. Thomas’ Hospital remained hisfavourite charity, but two other causes to benefit fromhis support were the London corporation of the poorand the New England Company, both of which hadclose ties to Dissent. In the absence of a male heir, his‘very great estate’ passed to his widow and three sur-viving daughters. Together they ensured that AbneyHouse in Stoke Newington remained a mecca forDissenters, and his widow Dame Mary Abneyreceived special praise as ‘a generous friend and suc-courer of gospel ministers’.9

1J. Nichols, Leics. iii. ; J. Smith, Magistrate and Christian, ;The Gen. v. –; Luttrell, Brief Relation, iii. . 2Guildhall Lib.mss /; /, p. ; Beaven, Aldermen, ii. ; NLS,Advocates’ mss, Bank of Eng. pprs. .., f. ; Cal. Treas. Bks.xxiii. ; Add. , ff. –; Boyer, Anne Annals, iv. ; DrWilliams’ Lib. O. D. , f. ; W. Kellaway, New England Co. .3Smith, , , , –; Cal. Treas. Bks. ix. , . 4DrWilliams’ Lib. O. D. , f. ; Luttrell, iii. ; Univ. London mss/; Bodl. Rawl. A., ff. –. 5Luttrell, iv. ; HMCPortland, iii. ; Centre Kentish Stud. Stanhope mssU//, James Vernon I* to Alexander Stanhope, Oct. ;Vernon–Shrewsbury Letters, iii. ; Add. D, f. . 6E.Calamy, Mems. of Life of John Howe [], ; Calamy, Life, i.–; Smith, ; G. S. De Krey, Fractured Soc. . 7Add. ,Dyer’s newsletter Nov. ; Luttrell, v. . 8London Poll of; London Rec. Soc. xvii. ; Smith, –; Folger ShakespeareLib. Newdigate newsletter Sept. ; Beaven, i. ;Huntington Lib. Hastings mss , ff. –. 9Calamy, Life, ii.–; London Rec. Soc. , ; Smith, –, ; DNB; Boyer, Pol.State, xxiii. ; Macfarlane thesis, ; S. Price, Funeral Sermon . . .of Dame Mary Abney [], .

P. L. G.

ACLAND, John (c.–), of Woodleigh,Devon.

C –May

b. c., st s. of Sir Hugh Acland, st and th Bt.†, ofKillerton, Devon by Anne, da. of Sir Thomas Daniel ofBeswick Hall, Yorks. educ. Exeter, Oxf. matric. May, aged . m. Mar. , Elizabeth, da. of RichardAcland of Barnstaple, Devon and sis. of RichardAcland*, s. ( d.v.p.) da.1

Acland was the son of a Tory baronet who had rep-resented Barnstaple in the first Exclusion Parliamentand Tiverton in the Parliament of James . He wasreturned unopposed for Callington in on theinterest of his kinsmen the Rolles, but made no signifi-cant contribution to the – session. On Oct. he was classed as a probable supporter of theTack, but he had in fact died v.p. the previous year. Hewas buried at Broad Clyst May , aged , andwas succeeded by his eldest son, Hugh†.2

1Vivian, Vis. Devon, . 2Ibid.E. C.

A A

ACLAND, Richard (–), of Fremington,Devon.

B –

bap. Jan. , st s. of Richard Acland ofBarnstaple by his w. Mary. educ. Exeter, Oxf. . m. May , Susanna (d. ), da. of John Lovering, mer-chant, of Barnstaple and Countisbury, Devon, s. (d.v.p.) da. ( d.v.p.). suc. fa. .1

Acland’s father, a wealthy Barnstaple merchant, hadpurchased the manor of Fremington, three miles fromthe town, in and had been nominated mayorunder the charter of . His uncle Arthur sat forBarnstaple in the second Exclusion Parliament.Acland was returned for the borough in , succeed-ing his wife’s brother-in-law Samuel Rolle II, but leftvirtually no mark on proceedings. He voted against theimpeachment of Dr Sacheverell early in , andafter his re-election later in the year was classed as aTory in the ‘Hanover list’ of the new Parliament. On Mar. he was given leave of absence for amonth, though his behaviour had been sufficient toplace him among the ‘Tory patriots’ opposed to thecontinuance of the war, and the ‘worthy patriots’ whocontributed towards detecting the mismanagements ofthe late ministry. Another month’s leave was accordedhim on Mar. . He declined re-election in and made no subsequent attempt to regain his seat. Hedied in October , his burial taking place atBarnstaple on the th.2

1Trans. Devon Assoc. xxxviii. , . 2CSP Dom. –, p.; Lysons, Devon, ; Trans. Devon Assoc. .

E. C.

A’COURT, Pierce (c.–), of Ivy Church,nr. Salisbury, Wilts. and Rodden, Som.

H –, –Mar.

b. c., o. s. of John A’Court of Bath, Som. andRodden, Som. by Mary, da. and h. of Robert Pierce, MD,of Bath. educ. Lincoln, Oxf. matric. Mar. , aged. m. Nov. , Elizabeth (d. ), da. and (in herissue) h. of William Ashe I*, s. ( d.v.p.) da. d.v.p. suc.fa. .1

Freeman, Wilton –d.2

A’Court’s family originally held land in Somersetand Bristol. He was defeated at by-elections for Bathin and , but was eventually brought in by hisAshe relatives at Heytesbury. Although he made littlerecorded contribution to the work of the House, heproved himself a loyal Whig, voting on Mar.

against the expulsion of Richard Steele, and beingclassed as a Whig in the Worsley list.3

A’Court was dropped in in favour of anotherbrother-in-law, William Ashe II*, but was returnedagain in . He made his will on Feb. ,bequeathing £ to his wife and cousin and a further£ to the caretaker of his house in Bath. His proper-ties at Ivy Church and Almondsbury, Gloucestershire,were left to the trustees Edward Ashe* and PeterBathurst* to pay outstanding debts and secure £p.a. for the education of his three surviving youngersons. A’Court died at Ivy Church on Mar. andwas buried next to his father in Haddon chapel,Rodden.4

1Hoare, Wilts. Heytesbury, , . 2Wilts. RO, G//, pp., , . 3Hoare, . 4The Gen. n.s. vi. ; Hoare, ; PCCRomney.

D. W. H.

ACTON, Sir Edward, rd Bt. (c.–), ofAldenham Hall, nr. Bridgnorth, Salop.

B –

b. c., st s. of Sir Walter Acton, nd Bt.†, ofAldenham Hall by Catherine, da. of Richard Cressett ofUpton Cressett and Cound, Salop. educ. Queen’s, Oxf.matric. May , aged , MA ; I. Temple .m. Dec. , Mary, da. and. h. of John Walter ofElberton, Glos., s. da. suc. fa. .1

Freeman, Bridgnorth , recorder –d.;freeman, Much Wenlock , bailiff –; sheriff,Salop –; freeman, Ludlow .2

On re-election in Acton was listed by LordCarmarthen (Sir Thomas Osborne†) as a Tory and as aprobable Court supporter, while in DecemberCarmarthen again noted him as a likely supporter. Thefollowing April, Robert Harley* classed Acton asdoubtful but possibly a Court supporter.3

The increasing influence of the Whigs moved Actoninto opposition. He was removed from the Shropshirelieutenancy in through the influence of Hon.Richard Newport I*, and although he signed theAssociation in February , he had been thoughtlikely to vote against the Court over the proposedcouncil of trade in January of that year, and in Marchvoted against fixing the price of guineas at s. and inNovember against the attainder of Sir John Fenwick†.Acton’s record of attendance in Parliament was notice-ably poor: he was given leave of absence on Jan. for days, on Jan. for his health, and again onMar. and Dec. . On Dec. he wasordered into custody for non-attendance. Released on

A A

Jan. , he was granted leave of absence again onApr. following. In an analysis of the general electionresults compiled about September , Acton wasmarked as a member of the Country party and was alsoforecast as likely to oppose a standing army. After ,his voting reflected the changes in the government: hewas listed in February as likely to support theCourt in agreeing with the committee of the supply’sresolution to continue the ‘Great Mortgage’, and in theaftermath of that session was blacklisted as one whohad opposed the making of preparations for war. Hethen voted on Feb. in favour of the resolutionvindicating the conduct of the Commons in theimpeachments of the Junto ministers. In Anne’s firstParliament he continued to vote with the High Tories,dividing on Feb. against agreeing with theLords’ amendments to the bill for enlarging the time totake the oath of abjuration, was also forecast in March as a supporter of the government’s actions in theScotch Plot, and voted for the Tack on Nov. .His having been a ‘Tacker’ may have cost his family theseat, for although he possessed a considerable interestat Bridgnorth, his son Whitmore* was defeated thereby two Whigs at the election. Acton died on Sept. .4

1Trans. Salop Arch. Soc. liv. –; Glos. N. and Q. iii. .2 Salop RO, Forester mss, copy of Much Wenlock corp. bk.; Ludlowbor. recs. min. bk. –. 3Luttrell Diary, ; Luttrell, BriefRelation, iv. –. 4Add. , Sir Edward Harley* to RobertHarley*, July ; HMC Portland, iv. ; Trans. Salop Arch.Soc. .

D. W. H.

ACTON, Whitmore (–), of AldenhamHall, nr. Bridgnorth, Salop.

B –

bap. Apr. , st s. of Sir Edward Acton, rd Bt.*,educ. St. Edmund Hall, Oxf. ; M. Temple ; m.c., Elizabeth, da. of Matthew Gibbon of Putney,Surr., s. da. suc. fa. as th Bt. Sept. .1

Freeman, Much Wenlock , Ludlow ; sheriff,Salop –.2

Thomas Hearne remembered the young Acton atOxford:

He was a tall, handsome young man, and wore his ownlong hair. The daughter of Alderman Eustace of Oxfordwas a great companion of his, tho’ she was married at thesame time to a Gentleman Commoner (Mr Gower) ofMerton College, and he used to entertain her in EdmundHall, and to spend the nights with her and often walkedout with her.3

A Tory like his father, Acton was defeated atBridgnorth in but regained the seat for his familyin after a stiff contest. Classed as a Tory in the‘Hanover list’, he had entertained Sacheverell duringthe doctor’s visit to Shropshire earlier that year, and inthe first session of the new Parliament was one of the‘worthy patriots’ who detected the mismanagementsof the previous ministry. He was also a member of theOctober Club. Otherwise, however, he left no imprinton the proceedings of the Commons.4

Acton stood at Bridgnorth again in but wasunsuccessful, and died at Aldenham on Jan. .5

1IGI, Salop; A. W. Gibbons, Gibbons Fam. Notes, ; Trans. SalopArch. Soc. ser. , v. . 2Salop RO, Forester mss, copy of MuchWenlock corp. bk.; Ludlow bor. recs. min. bk. –. 3HearneColls. i. . 4Forester mss, Sir William Forester to George Weld, July ; G. Holmes, Trial of Sacheverell, . 5Hearne Colls.xi. .

D. W. H.

ADDERLEY, William (d. ), of Lincoln’s Inn,and East Burnham, Bucks.

N W May –June

rd s. of William Adderley of Colney Hatch, Mdx. byMargaret, da. and h. of Edmund Eyre of East Burnham.educ. L. Inn , called . m. bef. , Sarah, s.da. suc. fa. .1

Collector sixpenny writs in Chancery –; cursitor,Beds. and Bucks. by –?; examiner in ChanceryMay –Aug. .2

Clerk of the peace, Mdx. –; commr. recusants,Bucks. .3

Although only the third son, Adderley was heir tohis father’s property in Buckinghamshire andBerkshire, including lands at Burnham and NewWindsor, because his elder brothers had taken thename Eyre in order to inherit the estates of theirmaternal grandfather, Edmund Eyre (d. ). Havingtrained as a lawyer, Adderley seems to have preferred acareer in legal administration. In September hereceived a commission to collect the profits of six-penny writs in Chancery at an annual rent of £,.This position only lasted for a year, but it was probablya mere adjunct to his Chancery office as cursitor forBedfordshire and Buckinghamshire which he wasrecorded by Chamberlayne as holding in , the firstyear such details were noticed. As these officials wereresponsible for making out the writs of course whichkept the ordinary law courts functioning there was anobvious link with his role in –. In he wasprobably the William Adderley who was appointedclerk of the peace for Middlesex. Other activities

A A

included appointment to the commission of for seizing two-thirds of recusants’ lands inBuckinghamshire, an activity entirely compatible withhis willingness in to act as a surety for RichardDeerham, the receiver of recusant estates north of theTrent. Rather surprisingly, he is recorded as resigningfrom the clerkship of the peace in , and it is pos-sible that he relinquished his place as cursitor (worthas much as £,) at the same date because althoughChamberlayne records him as in situ in , he wasout by . In the early months of James ’s reign hewas named as an examiner in Chancery, a place heretained until . His response to the events ofJames ’s reign is unknown: indeed when the ‘threequestions’ were asked in Buckinghamshire it wasnoted that, although a deputy-lieutenant, he had neverbeen sworn into office.4

No evidence survives concerning Adderley’s atti-tude to the Revolution of , although he contestedthe elections for the Convention at New Windsor. Hewas probably a Tory, for when he petitionedParliament his target was Henry Powle*, the WhigSpeaker, rather than the other successful candidate,Sir Christopher Wren*. Some contemporary observ-ers saw his challenge as inspired by Tory manoeuvresto remove Powle from the Chair, but Adderley chose tofight on the principle of a wide franchise for theborough. Although the House upheld Powle’s elec-tion, Adderley was eventually to prove his point. OnDec. he provided the Lords with informationon the fees taken by the examiners in Chancery.Defeated again at New Windsor at the general electionof , he petitioned successfully on the issue of thefranchise, being seated on May . His nameappears on Lord Carmarthen’s (Sir ThomasOsborne†) list of December , probably indicatinghis support for the embattled chief minister in case ofan opposition attack in the Commons. In April Robert Harley* classed Adderley as a Court supporter.However, Adderley’s impact on the House wasminimal and he made no recorded speeches. He wasburied at East Burnham on June .5

1Lipscomb, Bucks. iii. ; VCH Bucks. iii. ; IGI, London;Coll. Top. et Gen. iv. . 2CSP Dom. –, p. ; –, p.; HMC Lords, ii. . 3Stephens, Clerks of Counties –,p. ; Cal. Treas. Bks. iv. . 4PCC Grey, Mico; Coll. Top.et Gen. ; CSP Dom. –, p. ; –, p. ; Cal. Treas.Bks. ii. , ; iii. ; iv. ; vi. ; G. E. Aylmer, King’sServants, ; Duckett, Penal Laws and Test Act (), .5HMC Lords, ii. ; Coll. Top. et Gen. .

S. N. H.

ADDISON, Joseph (–), of Sandy End,Fulham, Mdx.; St. Margaret’s, Westminster, andBilton Hall, Warws.1

L –Dec. M Mar. – June

b. May , st s. of Lancelot Addison, DD, chaplainin ordinary to Charles and James , and dean ofLichfield –d., by his st w. Jane, da. of NathanielGulston, DD, rector of Wymondham, Leics., sis. ofWilliam Gulston, DD, bp. of Bristol. educ. Amesbury(Thomas Naish), Salisbury g.s., Lichfield g.s. –,Charterhouse –; Queen’s, Oxf. ; Magdalen,Oxf. (demy) –, BA , MA , fellow–; travelled abroad (France, Italy, Switzerland,Austria, Germany, United Provinces) –. m. Aug. , Charlotte, dowager Countess of Warwick, da.and h. of Sir Thomas Myddelton, nd Bt.†, of ChirkCastle, Denb., sis. of Sir Richard Myddelton, rd Bt.*,wid. of Edward Rich, th Earl of Warwick and rd Earl ofHolland, da. suc. fa. .

Commr. appeals in excise –June ; under-sec.of state –Jan. ; sec. to Lord Halifax (CharlesMontagu*) on mission to the United Provinces andHanover Apr.–Aug. ; chief sec. [I] Jan. –,Sept. –Aug. ; PC [I] –d.; keeper of recs. inBermingham tower, Dublin Castle – June (apptd. for life Oct. ); sec. to lds. justices Aug.–Sept.; ld. of Trade Dec. –July ; PC Apr. ;sec. of state (south) Apr. –.2

MP [I] –.Freeman, Dublin .3

Addison, the Whig littérateur and administrator,was born into genteel poverty as the son of a HighChurch clergyman whose hopes of preferment beyondhis deanery of Lichfield had been effectively termi-nated by the Revolution of . With both grand-fathers parsons and an uncle a bishop, and havinggrown up in a bookish household, he began an aca-demic career, being chosen a demy of MagdalenCollege, Oxford in the ‘golden election’ of , andproceeding to a fellowship eight years later. However,neither scholarship, which he dismissed as narrowpedantry, nor a religious vocation held enough attrac-tions for him, and he determined to make his way inthe wider world, perhaps aiming at a classical ideal ofcitizenship, the combination of ‘patriotism and urban-ity’. He made his early reputation in Oxford as a Latinpoet, and already by the time he became a fellow ofMagdalen had gained admittance to the coterie ofLondon wits that congregated at Will’s coffee-house,and had even received praise from Dryden. He hadalso applied himself to seeking out patrons fromamong the leading Whig politicians, flattering CharlesMontagu with inclusion in his ‘account of the great

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English poets’, and dedicating poetry to Lord Somers(Sir John*). Despite his father’s example, and theinfluence of High Tory tutors and friends atMagdalen, of whom the most notable was HenrySacheverell (according to tradition, his room-mate),Addison had early shown himself a Whig, publishingin a tribute to the new regime, and in con-gratulatory verses on King William’s safe return fromIreland. These convictions, in particular his faith inthe Revolution of , remained throughout hisadult life. His partisanship was never of the stridentkind, however. His correspondence, for example,betrayed few traces of his commitment to the Whigcause. This was partly a reflection of his natural diffi-dence, described somewhat acidly by Pope as

Alike reserved to blame, or to commend,A timorous foe, and a suspicious friend;Dreading e’en fools, by flatterers besieg’d,And so obliging that he ne’er obliged.

Later, as the ‘Spectator’, Addison was to condemn ‘afurious party spirit’, which

when it rages in its full violence, exerts itself in civil warand bloodshed; and when it is under its greatest restraintsnaturally breaks out in falsehood, distraction, calumny,and a partial administration of justice. In a word, it fills anation with spleen and rancour, and extinguishes all theseeds of good nature, compassion and humanity.

This discreet temperament, allied to his talents andpolitical reliability, recommended him to his Whigpatrons, and in , at the prompting of Montaguand Somers, he was granted £ by the Treasurytowards the expenses of a European tour, designed tohelp him prepare for the diplomatic service. Montagualso interceded with the authorities at Magdalen toobtain for him a dispensation from ordination, so thathe could keep his college fellowship. Although he wasable to meet many prominent European literaryfigures, travel, especially in France and Italy, con-firmed Addison’s prejudices, against Catholicism andagainst France: ‘the French’, he wrote, ‘are certainlythe most implacable, and the most dangerous enemiesof the British constitution . . . we are thus in a naturalstate of war . . . with the French nation’.4

Addison arrived back from the Continent early in to a changing political climate, with his two pro-tectors, Montagu (now Lord Halifax) and Somers, outof office but acquiring increasing weight with theGodolphin–Marlborough administration. There wasno diplomatic posting for him, but he did not return toMagdalen, remaining in London to polish his accountof his Travels in Italy and to join the Kit-Cat Club. AtHalifax’s suggestion, Lord Godolphin (Sidney†)

approached him via the chancellor of the Exchequer,Hon. Henry Boyle*, to compose a public poem to cele-brate Blenheim, and so successful was the outcome,‘The Campaign’, that he was rewarded with a commis-sionership of appeals, to the value of £ a year, witha promise of further advancement, which materializedthe following year in the form of an appointment asunder-secretary in the southern department. Hissmooth progress, interrupted only by the occasionalsniping of Tory satirists, was much envied by Defoe,who wrote in ,

Envy and party spleen h’ has never known,No humbling jails has [sic] pulled his fancy down.

Having accompanied Halifax to Hanover in , hepublished the next year a strong statement of the Whigcase for the resolute pursuance of the war until the‘French and Spanish monarchies’ were ‘entirely dis-united’. The Present State of the War . . . Considereddrew upon personal experience to denounce France asa ‘constant and most dangerous enemy to the Britishnation’. At the election he was brought in atLostwithiel in a last-minute arrangement made by hismaster in the secretary’s office, Lord Sunderland(Charles, Lord Spencer*), with a local Whig interest.Inevitably, he was listed as a Whig. Once elected, hepromptly sold his excise place, presumably to preventdisqualification from sitting, and not, as his mostrecent biographer has argued, because he was short ofmoney, a state of affairs which in any case seems highlyunlikely. Then in January he was appointed asLord Wharton’s (Hon. Thomas*) chief secretary inIreland, sailing to Dublin in April. According to the(admittedly suspect) testimony of his friend Swift, thebehaviour of the Irish Whigs ‘extremely offended’Addison’s sensibilities: ‘he told me they were a sort ofpeople who seemed to think that the principles of aWhig consisted in nothing else but damning theChurch, reviling the clergy, abetting the Dissenters,and speaking contemptibly [sic] of revealed religion’.In this office Addison proved a faithful servant and anassiduous correspondent, but he does not appear everto have participated in the political managementwhich was one of the Castle administration’s mostimportant functions. It went against his character, andin any case the viceroy’s extrovert personality left littleroom. Likewise, although he attended debates in theIrish parliament, no evidence of any contribution sur-vives, and there are apocryphal tales of his extraordi-nary bashfulness in this context. With Wharton hisrelationship was comfortable but never close, andsome idea of his true feelings may be gleaned from hisreaction to news of Tory plans to impeach the lord

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lieutenant in the – session of the BritishParliament. ‘For my own part’, Addison wrote,‘though perhaps I was not the most obliged personthat was near his lordship, I shall think myself boundin honour to do him what right I can.’ His ‘obligation’consisted not only of the chief secretaryship, worth£, a year, but a grant of the sinecure of keeper ofthe records in the Bermingham tower of DublinCastle, ‘an old obscure place’, as Swift called it, towhich an enhanced salary of £ was then attached.Addison was subsequently to press Godolphin unsuc-cessfully to increase this sum by £ and alter thetenure from pleasure to good behaviour. One of theincidental uses of the appointment may have been tooblige his resignation from the seat at Lostwithielbefore the hearing of what was to be a very powerfulpetition against the return, and he made considerableefforts to prove his title to the office before the Britishparliamentary session of – opened. In fact theLostwithiel petition was heard, and he was unseated,before he had accomplished the proof, and he had totry to speed up the process again before a by-electionarose in another suitable constituency. Fortunately hehad succeeded when, in March , a vacancy sud-denly occurred in one of Wharton’s boroughs,Malmesbury, where, coincidentally, the son of aformer pupil of Addison was also lord of the manor.The by-election took place late enough for him toavoid any potential embarrassment over the impeach-ment of Henry Sacheverell, and he departed oncemore for Dublin in April, returning in August with, ifSwift is to be believed, the praises of Irish Tories aswell as Whigs ringing in his ears.5

Loss of office in the ministerial revolution of was a financial blow to Addison, but not a grievousone, especially since, through the favour of the newviceroy of Ireland, Ormond, he was able to keep hissinecure in the Dublin Castle muniment room. Alwayscareful in money matters, he was sufficiently well offnot to need to come to any arrangement with the Toryministers. Indeed, his friendship with Swift cooledwhen the latter began to write for the incoming minis-try, though, typically of Addison, there was no seriousrupture. He was even able to pass a pleasant evening attable with Henry St. John II* and to ‘talk in a friendlymanner of party’. George Berkeley, a visitor toLondon, reported in that Addison and RichardSteele* had declared themselves ‘entirely persuadedthere is a design for bringing over the Pretender’,though this particular conviction was short-lived. Onthe whole, Berkeley thought Addison ‘more earnest inthe Whig cause than Mr Steele’, and indeed he was adutiful member of the Hanover Club as well as the

Kit-Cat. After his ‘easy and undisputed’ re-election atMalmesbury in he was classed as a Whig in the‘Hanover list’, and on Dec. voted for the ‘NoPeace without Spain’ motion. In general, however, hetook little or no part in parliamentary business, exceptfor one occasion on May when old loyaltiesobliged him to appear as a teller for an amendmentintended to soften the terms of a resolution concern-ing Lord Wharton proposed in the aftermath of thereport of the commissioners of accounts. Writing hadnow become his main preoccupation. Having collabo-rated with Steele on the Tatler in – he began inMarch its successor, the Spectator, which for months purveyed a hugely popular mixture of politephilosophy and gentle social satire, Addison’s avowedaim being ‘to bring philosophy out of closets andlibraries, schools and colleges, to dwell in clubs andassemblies, at tea-tables and in coffee-houses’.Although the authors disclaimed any ‘stroke of party’,the general tone was distinctively, if mildly, Whiggish,an antidote to the furious polemic of the Tories. Fromtime to time more obvious political propaganda creptin. As the presiding genius of the Whig wits atButton’s, Addison could not entirely avoid the task ofwriting for his party. He had, in September ,endeavoured to answer the Examiner with his WhigExaminer. Later he offered a verse to lament the exileof a former hero, Marlborough (John Churchill†), in:

O censure undeserved! Unequal fate!Which strove to lessen Him who made Her great.

And following the defeat in of the French com-merce bill, which he had voted against on June, hecontributed a ‘playful Whig parable’, The Late Trialand Conviction of Count Tariff, attacking the Examineragain, among other Tory targets. In private he assisteda Hanoverian minister in preparing official papers forsubmission to the British government. However, hismost successful piece of writing in this period was hisreworked play Cato, which was produced to greatacclaim in , proving to be ‘so subtly ambiguous orstrictly non-party’ in its ‘political innuendoes’ thatboth sides ‘applied’ it ‘to themselves’ and, like theWhigs and Tories in Ireland, vied with each other inthe volume of their applause of the author.6

Before the election Addison paid some £,to purchase Bilton Hall, near Rugby, in order to makehimself eligible for a parliamentary seat under theLanded Qualification Act, and also to acquire therural retreat essential for any Augustan statesman. Hecontinued to sit for Malmesbury, though, and did notattempt a Warwickshire constituency. Among several

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advisers consulted by Steele in the composition of TheCrisis, in his case in the correction of drafts, he was oneof those nominated by the Kit-Cat Club to prepareSteele’s defence against the projected Commons’motion of expulsion. In the event, it was RobertWalpole II* who provided the basis for Steele’sspeech, though Addison prompted Steele from anearby bench. Subsequently, as Steele recounted,Addison was ‘sent out after me, from my friends, tobid me not be seen till I heard what will be thecensure’. Naturally, Addison voted on Mar. against Steele’s expulsion, and was classified as a Whigboth in the Worsley list and in a list of the Membersre-elected in .7

Addison was appointed, through Lord Halifax’sintercession, as secretary to the regency upon QueenAnne’s death. This office seemed to many to be anaugury of immediate high preferment, possibly as asecretary of state. Addison himself looked forward to aplace on the Board of Trade, and was bitterly disap-pointed to find himself once again chief secretary forIreland, this time under his former superior as secre-tary of state, Lord Sunderland. He was, however, inthe next few years to secure not only the post on theBoard of Trade, but also the secretaryship of state forthe southern department in Sunderland’s administra-tion. In neither capacity did he cut a figure in theCommons. He died on June .8

1Unless otherwise stated, this biography is based on P. Smithers,Life of Joseph Addison () and Addison Letters ed. Graham. 2SP//–; Add. , Misc. ; Liber Munerum PublicorumHiberniae ed. Lascelles, i(), –. 3Cal. Ancient Recs. Dublin ed.Gilbert, vi. . 4G. Holmes, Trial of Sacheverell, ; J. Carswell,Old Cause, ; H. T. Dickinson, Liberty and Property, ; W. L.Sachse, Ld. Somers, , . 5G. M. Trevelyan, Eng. under QueenAnne, i. ; Poems on Affairs of State ed. Ellis, vi. ; vii. ; Cal.Treas. Bks. xix. ; Carswell, ; Swift Works ed. Davis, x. ;Cal. Treas. Pprs. –, p. ; Hayton thesis, . 6BolingbrokeCorresp. iv. –; Add. , ff. –; HMC th Rep. ; SwiftStella ed. Davis, ; A. L. Rowse, Early Churchills, ; The LateTrial and Conviction of Count Tariff (); Trevelyan, iii. ;Wentworth Pprs. . 7Cobbett, Parlty. Hist. vi. , ; SteeleCorresp. , ; Coxe,Walpole, i. . 8Wentworth Pprs. .

D. W. H.

AISLABIE, John (–), of Studley Royal,nr. Ripon, Yorks. and Red Lion Square, London.

R –N –R –Mar.

b. Dec. , rd s. of George Aislabie (d. ), regis-trar to abp. of York, by Mary, da. and h. of Sir JohnMallory of Studley Royal. educ. York (Mr Tomlinson);St. John’s, Camb. ; Trinity Hall, Camb. , LL.B.. m. () June (with £,), Anne (d. ),

da. of Sir William Rawlinson of Hendon, Mdx., s. da.( d.v.p.); () lic. Apr. , Judith, da. of Sir ThomasVernon*, wid. of Dr. Stephen Waller of Hall Barn,Beaconsfield, Bucks. s.p. suc. bro. George .1

?Registrar to abp. York ?c.; asst. Ripon Nov. ,alderman Dec. , mayor –.2

Commr. Aire and Calder navigation , building new churches –.3

Ld. of Admiralty Oct. –Apr. ; treasurer ofnavy Oct. –; PC July –; chancellor ofExchequer, –.4

Originally Baltic merchants, the Aislabies were wellestablished in York by the end of the th century.Aislabie’s father very much enhanced their fortunesand status by marrying into one of the oldest landedfamilies in the county, although in his marriage‘above himself’ was to lead indirectly to his death in aduel with (Sir) Jonathan Jennings*, who had insultedAislabie, calling him ‘the scum of the county’. In John Aislabie inherited the estate of Studley Royalfrom his elder brother. The proximity of this estate toRipon gave Aislabie a considerable interest in theborough, though in the s he still relied upon thesupport of his wife’s uncle, Archbishop Sharp, whohad much influence in Ripon, to secure his return toParliament. Prior to the election the Duke ofLeeds (Sir Thomas Osborne†) informed the arch-bishop that he could do good at Ripon if he used hisinterest there to influence the election result: ‘As Mr[Jonathan] Jennings* . . . will be sure of the first with alittle of your Grace’s countenance, so with yourGrace’s help Mr Aislabie may be the other member.’Although opposed to the idea of endeavouring toinfluence elections in general, the archbishop agreed tointerpose at Ripon, and secured Aislabie’s return. Hisensuing political career was governed by voting pat-terns and party allegiances that ‘defy classification’,though he ‘was taken by his contemporaries for aTory’.5

Aislabie was the first member of his family to enterParliament. His early career was relatively quiet,although from the outset a pattern of association withtrade and revenue matters became apparent. In aprobable forecast for the divisions of Jan. onthe proposed council of trade he was listed as likely tooppose the Court. He signed the Associationpromptly, though he was not recorded as voting in thedivision on the price of guineas in March. On the thhe told against a motion for receiving an amendmentfrom the Lords to the bill for encouraging the recruit-ment of seamen. In the – session he voted on Nov. for the attainder of Sir John Fenwick†. On Jan. he was appointed to the drafting committee for a

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clause, or clauses, for better explaining the recoinageacts, the first of many pieces of legislation with whichhe was to be associated. In the – session, follow-ing the presentation of a petition from the corporationand inhabitants of Ripon, Aislabie was appointed on Jan. to the drafting committee for a bill for themore effectual prevention of the export of wool.Returned again for Ripon in the election, he wasclassed as a Court supporter in an analysis of the elec-tion results compiled in about September. However,he was included also on a forecast of those likely tooppose a standing army, and has been identified, fromhis absence from the Court side in the division on thedisbanding bill on Jan. , as a Country Whig.Aislabie’s affiliation with the Whigs during the lastyears of William ’s reign appears to have been atemporary relationship. The following session, in–, proved to be a distressing time forAislabie. On Dec. he was ordered into thecustody of the serjeant-at-arms for being absent froma call of the House. Having been discharged on theth, personal tragedy struck when his wife and adaughter died in a fire at his house in Red Lion Squarein January . His son was only saved by beingcarried out of an upper window. The fire was said tohave been started deliberately by a servant to concealthe theft of a casket of jewels.6

The death of his wife and daughter may haveaccounted in part for Aislabie’s lack of political activ-ity over the next few years. However, an analysis of theHouse into interests compiled in early , whilelisting Aislabie under the interest of ArchbishopSharp, noted that this classification was ‘doubtful’.This may have been due to Aislabie’s successfulendeavours to improve his personal interest in Riponthrough the purchase of burgages, thereby releasinghim from a dependence upon the archbishop. Aislabiewas returned once again for Ripon in January ,and in February was listed as likely to support theCourt in agreeing with the resolutions of the commit-tee of supply to continue the ‘Great Mortgage’.However, his absence from the House was noted on June, when Thomas Frewen*, executor to the lateArchbishop Frewen of York, presented a petitionwhich required Aislabie’s presence. Three days laterAislabie was in attendance at the House, when thepetition was heard. He was returned again for Ripon inNovember in a contested election, and in keeping withhis fluid party allegiances, was classed by RobertHarley* with the Tories in December. His parliamen-tary activity seems to have been hampered in byhis election as mayor of Ripon, even though the corpo-ration passed a resolution allowing him to dispense

with the requirement to be resident in the boroughduring his term of office on account of his being anMP. His time as mayor, which may have excluded himfrom contesting the Ripon election, may also explainthe accommodation reached between him and theWhig Sir William Hustler* for the election.Aislabie was returned for Northallerton, Hustler’snormal constituency, while Hustler was returned inAislabie’s place at Ripon. The success of this arrange-ment suggests that Aislabie’s interest in Ripon wasalready strong, though he improved it further whenmayor, paying for the reconstruction of the marketcross at a cost of about £, restoring ‘the wakeman’shorn’, and, ‘besides other presents’ to the corporation,presenting his fellow aldermen with a handsome silvercup for the use of future mayors. However, Aislabiedid attend the House on occasion, and on Feb. ,while dining at Archbishop Sharp’s in the company ofBishop Nicolson, he informed the company of ‘thelong remonstrance of the Commons (this day) againstthe ministry in the last reign’.7

From onwards Aislabie became more active inParliament and politics in general. Having had a quiettime during the – session, in which he acted as ateller on Jan. in favour of a motion for asecond reading of the wine duties bill, Aislabie’sCountry Tory affiliations began to come to the foreduring the – session. In October he wasforecast by Harley as a probable opponent of the Tack,and he did not vote for it on Nov. On Dec. he actedas a teller against committing the bill to regulatebutton-making, while on Jan. he wasappointed to the drafting committee for a bill toexclude those placemen from the House who heldoffices created since . Aislabie’s continuing inter-est in economic matters was signalled by his telling.On Feb. he acted as a teller against an amendmentto the bill prohibiting trade with France, which wasdesigned to legitimize the importation of Frenchwines through a friendly country, where such tradeagreements were already contracted. In February andMarch he took an active part on behalf of theCommons in the Aylesbury case, serving on commit-tees of inquiry and for managing a conference over thewrits of error. On Mar. he was named as a managerfor a conference over the Lords’ refusal of the Tory-inspired amendment to a naturalization bill, whichaimed at denying voting rights to property-holdingnaturalized foreigners. However, even in this instanceAislabie has been identified as one of three managers‘of doubtful political leanings’.8

Returned once again for Ripon in , and havingbeen recorded by Bishop Nicolson in his diary as part

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of a ‘throng’ of MPs he met at Doncaster who wererushing to the new Parliament for the vote on theSpeaker, Aislabie demonstrated his flexible allegiancesby supporting the Court candidate in the division onOct. On Nov. he was the first-named to the draft-ing committee for a bill for the ease of sheriffs in theiroffice and in passing their accounts, which he sawthrough all its stages in the Commons. In a contribu-tion to the debate on the Tories’ ‘Hanover motion’ onDec. he again demonstrated his tendency to act inde-pendently, when he appeared to oppose the proposedaddress to bring over the Princess Sophia, observingthat those who had previously been for an addresswere now against it. His Country credentials also cameto the fore on the th when he was one of fourMembers appointed to prepare a bill for limiting thenumber of placemen in the House, while on the th,when the Tory Charles Caesar accused ‘a great lord’[Lord Treasurer Godolphin (Sidney†)] of correspond-ing with St. Germain in the previous reign, Aislabiefavoured showing ‘compassion’ to Caesar and advo-cated a reprimand rather than confinement in theTower. In January Aislabie figured prominentlyamong those who favoured the insertion of a placeclause in the regency bill. Aislabie’s contributions tothe debates on this ‘Whimsical clause’ demonstratedhis Country instincts. On Jan. he argued that,without some such provision, ‘all officers then in beingmay sit’ in the Parliament which would convene at theQueen’s death. He spoke again on the th, and on thest argued that the clause would ‘perfect’ the regencybill. On the th he told in favour of an amendment tothe clause, which imposed a specific penalty on place-men who sat in Parliament, by making them ineligibleto sit for ten years and fining them £, instead of thenon-specific reference to the punitive clauses of an actof Charles ’s reign for excluding Catholics fromParliament. In keeping with his early speeches, he didnot support the Court in the division on the placeclause on Feb. It was reported the next day that‘Aislabie is allowed by all, even the Whig Lords whoheard the debate, to have spoke as well in it as everanybody did in any’.9

In the summer of Aislabie was in contact withSecretary Harley, in relation to matters of an officialnature. However, this contact also may have been thebeginning of an endeavour on Aislabie’s part to attachhimself to a particular interest for the purposes ofattaining government office. On June he forwardedto Harley information received from the mayor ofRipon about a local lawyer who had allegedly declaredthat ‘all who frequented any public worship where theQueen was prayed for were rebels and traitors’, while

on July he sent him a loyal address from Ripon cor-poration for presentation to the Queen. The –session saw Aislabie’s involvement in a miscellany oflegislative initiatives. First-named on Dec. to thedrafting committee for a bill for the sale of part of theYorkshire estates of the late Christopher Lister* forthe payment of debts, he presented this bill on Jan.. The following day he acted as a teller against amotion that the Whig Daniel Harvey* had been dulyelected for Clitheroe. On Feb. he was appointed todraft a Yorkshire estate bill. In the summer Aislabiewas in contact with Harley once more, writing on June to request some preferment in the navy for hiskinsman Edward Blackett. On Dec. he was first-named to the drafting committee for a bill concerningIrish forfeited estates, which he later presented to theHouse. He was also nominated on the th to thedrafting committee for the bill to complete the Union,and on Feb. he reported from the committee ofinquiry into the representation of the commissionersfor the Equivalent. Accordingly, on the rd, he wasfirst-named to the body ordered to draft the bill forfurther directing payment of the Equivalent. Theneed for clarification of laws affected by the Union ledto his appointment on the th to the drafting commit-tee for the ease of Scottish Quakers. He also told ontwo occasions in March: on the th, when he told infavour of an amendment to Bishop Nicolson’s cathe-dral bill, for allowing appeals from a bishop’s local vis-itation, and on the rd, when he told against agreeingwith a Lords’ amendment to the East Riding land reg-istry bill. The next day he was appointed to the draft-ing committee for a Yorkshire estate bill.10

In keeping with Aislabie’s fluid political allegianceshe was classed as a Tory in a parliamentary list of early and as a Whig in a later list of . Returnedagain at Ripon in , in the first session of the newParliament he was noted for opposing certain expe-dients suggested by the Court party in the debates, fol-lowing the Queen’s Speech, on proposals forcompleting the Union. His occasional incarnation as aTory was signalled on Jan. , when he toldagainst the Whig Sir Cleave More, nd Bt.*, beingdeclared duly elected for Bramber, and on Mar. whenhe acted as a teller in favour of the Country ToryRobert Orme* being declared duly elected forMidhurst. However, despite his apparent affiliationwith the Tory party, his continued adherence toCountry principles was reported by John Pringle* inMarch when he included Aislabie among a group ofCountry Whigs who made occasional, althoughunsuccessful, attacks upon the ministry. Aislabie’s rolein the preparation of various economic and financial

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measures continued with his appointment to prepare abill for the more effectual prohibition of imports ofFrench wine and other goods ( Mar.). His involve-ment in Scottish affairs included telling, on Apr., foran amendment to the provisions for treason trials inScotland in the bill for improving the Union, whichrepresented a success on the part of his Country Whigassociates. He also acted as a teller on the th againstan amendment to the same bill. His Country princi-ples were again visible in the – session, when,on Jan. , he was one of the Members ordered toprepare a place bill. On Feb. a complaint was madeof a breach of privilege committed against Aislabie bya sheriff’s bailiff, John Farrington, though by the thAislabie was able to inform the House that Farrington‘had given him satisfaction’, and the matter wasdropped. On the th he was first-nominated to thedrafting committee for a bill for the better security ofrents and to prevent frauds by tenants, seeing the billthrough all stages in the House. During the trial of DrSacheverell Aislabie displayed a dry sense of humouron Feb. when the clerk was calling Members inalphabetical order of counties for proceeding toWestminster Hall. Several Scottish MPs objected tobeing relegated to the end, even after Wales, butAislabie ‘laughed off their protests that Aberdeenshireshould have been called first by assuring them thatwhen one of their own countrymen was impeached,they should have the precedency with pleasure’.Whether in keeping with his Country Tory affiliationsor his independent nature, he voted againstSacheverell’s impeachment.11

Following the fall of the Godolphin administrationAislabie again turned his attention to Harley, writingon Aug. ‘to congratulate you upon the happy turn ofaffairs, and to praise you the author of so great a revo-lution. I am not capable of advancing the publicservice except in respect of such elections as shallserve you.’ It would appear Aislabie’s intention was toprocure a place in government through Harley’s pat-ronage, and by Sept. rumours were spreading thatAislabie was to succeed Robert Walpole II* as treas-urer of the navy. However, on the th, Lord Orrery(Hon. Charles Boyle II*) confirmed that no decisionhad been made, when he informed Harley that

I find by Mr Aislabie that he would take it well if youwould either say something to him yourself or commis-sion me to say something to him before he goes into thecountry [for the elections], which I believe he designs todo in a few days. The town has given him a place which Iperceive would not be so agreeable to him as anotheremployment in the hands of the same gentleman whom itis reported he is to succeed, and as that employment

would be more pleasing to him, so in my poor judgmenthe would be more fit for that than the other.

Despite Aislabie’s interest in the office of treasurer ofthe navy, over the following days the rumourschanged, with the prospective office now being that ofa lord of the Admiralty. On the th Orrery againwrote to Harley requesting that he ‘would endeavourto speak to Mr Aislabie as soon as possible, and makehim some civil compliment of your inclination tohim’. By the beginning of October it was confirmedthat Aislabie was to be an Admiralty lord, which inview of his interest in the office of treasurer of thenavy, appears to have been a disappointment to him.On Oct. Sir Edward Blackett, nd Bt.*, wrote that

Mr Aislabie is now with me and [I] perceive by him thathe does not design to continue the Admiralty, and thoughhe should, he tells me it does not lie in his way to give anymanner of preferment to any one that is worth accepting.I believe in a very little time he will have another employ-ment.

However, Aislabie did not display his dissatisfaction toHarley, and instead made the most of his involvementin the Yorkshire elections, not only securing his ownreturn at Ripon, but also claiming in a letter to Harleyon Oct. that ‘I have made use of the liberty you gaveme to come down and have carried the county electiontriumphantly [for the Tory Sir Arthur Kaye, rd Bt.]:so there is an end of a Parliament bully [Sir WilliamStrickland, rd Bt.]; no more lopping of heads andscandalous minorities’. He also requested that Harley‘take this county into your protection, and not sufferus to be governed by an old-fashioned interest; it is aneasy matter to model it to your service and to make ityours’. In the – session of the new Parliament,Aislabie partook in the Tory attacks on the Whigs on Dec. over the charter for Bewdley. LordCowper (William*) noted in his diary that whilecertain Members had behaved well towards him whenhe attended the House in relation to the case, HenrySt. John II and Aislabie had been ‘particularly rude,both without any provocation’. However, Aislabie’sCountry instincts remained stronger than his officialties to the Tory ministry, as was noted by Kaye on Jan. , who recorded that ‘the place bill was readthe rd time and passed after long debate, by a major-ity of to . All who have had, or now have, or arein hopes to have places, dividing against it, except forSir William Drake, Mr [Robert] Benson, and MrAislabie’. Despite voting for the place bill, Aislabieremained in favour, and was made a justice forWestminster and Middlesex in February. On Jan.he delivered information from the Admiralty on naval

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orders relating to the Palatines. At this time he waslisted as a ‘Tory patriot’ who opposed the continuanceof the war, and among the ‘worthy patriots’ who weresaid to have been responsible for detecting the mis-managements of the previous administration. He wasalso listed as one of the principal members of thenewly founded High Church Tory October Club.These associations and activities kept him in favourwith the ministry, St. John commending Aislabie toHarley on Apr. for his behaviour towards theQueen.12

However, it was not long before Aislabie’s indepen-dent nature asserted itself again. In the –session he was to the fore among those Members whowere dissatisfied with the government’s attitude andpolicies, and who were to become known as the ‘whim-sicals’, and later as the Hanoverian Tories. However,Aislabie was one of a few independent Tories whoseem to have co-operated more openly with the Whigsthan with any ‘whimsical’ group. He was also one ofthe first of these groups to express his concern, on Dec. , in the division over the ‘No Peace withoutSpain’ motion. According to the Dutch envoy, Aislabiewas one of the proposers of the amendment to theAddress. Thomas Smith II* noted that the clause wassupported ‘by all the considerable speakers of theWhigs . . . and by Mr Aislabie, who used to be on theother side’. It was also reported that Aislabie was oneof several Tories who spoke against the peace negotia-tions during the debate. The peace issue also affectedthe October Club, with Aislabie being one of the firstdissidents within it. However, Aislabie’s dissidencedid not interfere with his commitments of office inParliament, and on Dec. he presented the esti-mates of the navy debt, with an account of what part ofthe debt had been, and would be, satisfied by the SouthSea stock. The lengthy debate on the barrier treaty on Feb. kept him from dinner with BishopNicolson. He again distanced himself from the Torieson Feb., when he successfully opposed a motion byHenry Campion which constituted part of the attackon the Duke of Marlborough (John Churchill†),wherein Campion proposed that a bill be prepared forforcing Marlborough to repay the . per cent deduc-tions taken from the pay of foreign troops. Aislabie,along with Sir William Drake, countered this bysaying that since the House had already put this affairbefore the Queen, it would not be very decent to take itout of her hands. Aislabie’s involvement in financialmatters continued during the session. He managedthrough all its stages in the House a bill for collectingand recovering the duties granted for the support ofGreenwich Hospital, and on May told in favour of

implementing a resolution relating to marine payarrears.13

Despite his tendency to oppose the ministry,Aislabie still seemed to remain in favour with Harley.He informed James Grahme* on Oct. that ‘I havenot yet seen the Coll. [Harley], Captain [St. John], orLieutenant [Robert Benson] but design to pay myhomage tomorrow’. He also assured Grahme thathe would ‘do my endeavour’, presumably at theAdmiralty, to get arrears of pay for Grahme’s friends.It was reported on Dec. that Aislabie, in his capac-ity as an Admiralty Lord, was endeavouring to facili-tate the Duchess of Marlborough’s request for ayacht to take her to join her husband abroad. Inthe session Aislabie continued to fulfil hisAdmiralty role, presenting the ordinary naval esti-mates on Apr., the estimates for sea officer half-pay on May, and, on the nd, the estimates ofnaval officer half-pay. However, it was not long beforehis independent instincts came to the fore again, overthe French commercial treaty. In the debate on theth and th articles of the new treaty on June ‘SirThomas Hanmer [th Bt.], Mr Aislabie of theAdmiralty . . . and divers others went with the Whigsagainst the Court’, both Hanmer and Aislabie speak-ing and voting against the treaty. Aislabie was clas-sified as a ‘whimsical’ in a list relating to the division.On June a motion was made for an address,requesting an estimate of the half-pay for the marineregiments that were to be disbanded. Boyer attributesthis motion to Aislabie.14

Despite siding against the ministry, Aislabie wascontinued in office following the session, Harleydeciding against any purge of government. On LordChancellor Harcourt’s (Simon I*) advice, Harleyargued that it was ‘best that Aislabie should be spared,and keep the rod over him’. He was included in thenew Admiralty commission in January , and,having been returned for Ripon once again, was still inoffice when the new Parliament met in February. On Mar. he delivered information on the navy’sstrength and finances. He was not listed among thoseMembers who voted against the expulsion of RichardSteele on that day. On the th he delivered informa-tion on naval expenditure and the sale of old ships andstores. However rumours of his pending removal fromthe Admiralty were confirmed in early April, afterwhich he aligned himself squarely with the Whigs inopposition to the Tory ministry, as was evident fromhis inclusion as a Whig in the Worsley list. He was oneof the chief speakers against the Court in the debate of Apr. on whether the succession was in danger, hiscontribution being recorded thus:

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On any attempts of Pretender he hoped messenger toHanover would not be so long or mistake his way as oflate. Well being of England now depends on mediation ofFrance to all the courts of Europe. Such troops as theseare only for this ministry. We are to procure amnesty tothe Catalans and a better commerce for ourselves byprayers and fears. The first year of peace well worth sixmillion and the nd year to cost us seven million. Didthey mean the inability of the [kingdom] or of themselvesto carry on the war? I won’t say they forgot our trade toPortugal or Holland. The fondness of the Dutch inpressing so much to have but the half or that asientowhich our South Sea Company would not take. I won’tsay our ministry gave up a Town in Flanders or a port inthe South Sea for it.

He attacked the Court again on the th, over anaddress sent from the Lords relating to the treatieswith France and Spain. He was reported to have saidthat

I hope it is not expected we should swallow down anaddress that has been cooked up above by the Lords andthe ministry, new-made peers and Scotch pension-ers, which would reduce us to a parlement of Paris. Butrather that we should examine this peace step by step, forthis is the only time for every honest man to speak, for assoon as this is got over we may expect to see five or six ofthe new garbled companies of the guards come and tell us‘this is your King’.

Consideration of the address was postponed until thend, when Lord Downe (Hon. Henry Dawnay) andWilliam Gore proposed the motion to fill up the blankin the address with the words ‘and Commons’. In thefollowing debate Aislabie supported (Sir) Peter Kingand other Whigs, speaking ‘with great vehemenceagainst the ministers, for having made so precarious apeace’. He was satirical and witty at first, insinuatingthat Downe and Gore would get peerages for theirefforts, and that the address, like money supplies, wasto be given as ‘Plaister for [the] ministry’s qualms,every sessions as long as they are in pain’. He alsofocused on the asiento, which he declared ‘some tookfor a great country, others for the Golden Fleece,others for a bear skin . . . if we are to thank the ministrywe hope we shall do it especially for the asiento’. Hethen became serious, turning to the plight of theCatalans:

A people, that the Queen had said she thought herselfobliged in honour and conscience to see they had theirjust rights and privileges, scandalously abandoned, but aReverend Divine [Jonathan Swift] that was intimate withthe ministry had let them into the secret, how it hap-pened; for in his spirit of the Whigs, he treats them as aparcel of rebels, and as such not fit to be trusted with theprivilege of giving money, which was very apt to put

republican principle in them. If this doctrine prevailed itmight in time be applied to them of that House. He con-cluded if the ministry could not sleep without such con-tinual healing votes, to save the dignity of the House hewould come into giving them an act of indemnity, but hedreaded a ministry that was too proud to ask one.

Another report described the opposition to the addressas being part of the ‘strugglings of the indefatigableparty’, but it was hoped that the debate had ‘given adecisive period to their attempts’, seeing as those‘against it’ (Robert Walpole II, Aislabie and others)did not ‘think fit to divide upon the question’. Aislabiecontinued to act in opposition, and in early May, whenthe House was considering doubling the taxes on soapand starch, he seconded Walpole’s motion that thesum required be made up by the fourth part of theasientowhich was reserved for the Queen.15

Aislabie’s failure to toe the line within the Toryministry had ultimately cost him his office, but hisincreasing identification with the Whigs was to provebeneficial following the Hanoverian succession.Whether his opposition to the Court during –had been due to his disappointment over his place in, or to his natural independent or Countryinstincts, his actions had ‘ingratiated him very muchwith the Whigs’, and resulted in his promotion inOctober as treasurer of the navy, which was theoffice he had originally desired. Unsurprisingly,Aislabie was classed as a Whig on two lists which com-pared the Parliament with its predecessor.However, his promotion under the Whigs and his pre-vious actions gave some credence to the viewexpressed by Speaker Onslow (Arthur†), who wrotethat Aislabie was regarded as a ‘dark’, ‘cunning’ man,‘suspected and low in all men’s opinion’, though healso acknowledged that Aislabie was a man of ‘goodunderstanding, no ill-speaker in Parliament, and verycapable of business’. Aislabie’s public career flour-ished under George , when he rose to be chancellor ofthe Exchequer and Lord Sunderland’s (Charles, LordSpencer*) right-hand man in the South Sea affair.When the bubble burst in , his deep involvementin the affair put an end to the rumours that he was toreceive a peerage, and led to his resignation from officein January and expulsion from the Commons andtemporary incarceration in the Tower in March.Subsequently, he was debarred from standing again.Still a wealthy man, Aislabie spent much of theremainder of his life developing Studley Royal andFountains Abbey, which had come into his possessionin , with lavish buildings and landscaped gardens.His personal estate was such that he was able togive one daughter a portion of £, in . He

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continued to control the elections in Ripon until hisdeath on June . By his will his son, WilliamAislabie†, inherited everything.16

1Yorks. Arch. Jnl. xxxvii. –; W. Yorks. Archs. Vyner mss,–, , , (ex. inf. Mr William Barber); FountainsAbbey (Surtees Soc. lxvii), –. 2Yorks. Arch. Jnl. , ;Ripon Millenary ed. Harrison, , . 3HMC Lords, n.s. iii. ; E.G. W. Bill, Q. Anne Churches, pp. xxiii–xxiv. 4Cobbett, Parlty. Hist.vi. ; Add. DDD, f. ; , ff. –; Cal. Treas. Bks.xxix. , ; xxxii. –; HMC Var. viii. , . 5Yorks. Arch.Jnl. –; Ripon Millenary, ; W. A. Speck, Tory and Whig, ;Glos. RO, Sharp mss /K, Leeds to abp. of York, Sept. ;Speck thesis, –. 6Party and Management ed. C. Jones, ;Yorks. Arch. Jnl. ; Bull. IHR. sp. supp. , p. ; Luttrell, BriefRelation, iv. ; Fountains Abbey, ; Yorks. Diaries (Surtees Soc.lxv), . 7Vyner mss, –, –, , –, (exinf. Mr William Barber); N. Yorks. RO, Swinton mss, Danby pprs.persons to be elected at Ripon, Nov. ; Fountains Abbey, ;Ripon Millenary, –; HMC Portland, vi. ; Nicolson Diaries ed.Jones and Holmes, . 8Bull. IHR. xl. . 9Nicolson Diaries, ;Bull. IHR. xxxvii. ; Cam. Misc. xxiii. , , , , , , ; G.Holmes, Pol. in Age of Anne, ; Centre Kentish Stud. Stanhopemss U/C/, Sir John Cropley, nd Bt.*, to James Stanhope*, Feb. ; Party and Management, . 10HMC Portland, iv. ,, ; Yorks. Arch. Jnl. –. 11Speck thesis, –;Cunningham, Hist. GB, ii. ; SRO, Ogilvy of Inverquharity mssGD//, Pringle to William Bennet*, Mar. ; G. Holmes,Trial of Sacheverell, . 12HMC Portland, iv. , , , ,; J. Carswell, S. Sea Bubble, ; Huntington Lib. Stowe mss() pp. , , ; Churchill Coll. Camb. Erle mss /, JamesCraggs I* to Thomas Erle*, Sept. ; Addison Letters, ;Add. , f. ; Northumb. RO, Blackett mss ZBL , Newbyletter bk. Blackett to Edward Denniston, Oct. [], same to John?, [Oct. ]; Yorks. Arch. Jnl. –; Cowper, Diary, –;Cam. Misc. xxxi. ; Boyer, Pol. State, i–ii. , ; Tindal, ii.. 13Holmes, Pol. in Age of Anne, , ; NSA, Kreienberg’sdespatches Dec. , Feb. ; NLS, Advocates’ mss,Wodrow pprs. letters Quarto , f. ; Add. , f. ; Bull. IHR.xxxiii. –; D. Szechi, Jacobitism and Tory Pol. –; Boyer,Anne Annals, x. ; Nicolson Diaries, . 14Bagot mss at LevensHall, Aislabie to Grahme, Oct. ; Add. , f. ; , f.; GGG, f. ; Boyer, Pol. State, v. , –, ; vi.; Chandler, v. , –; SRO, Cromartie mss GD addit./bdle., [–] to [Earl of Cromarty], June ; Cobbett, vi. ;Tindal, ; Yorks. Arch. Jnl. –. 15Bull. IHR. xxxiii. ; Add., Harley to Lord Harley (Edward*), Oct. ; , ff. ,; HHH, f. ; Boyer, Pol. State, vii. , ; Stowe mss() p. ; Szechi, ; Wodrow pprs. letters Quarto , ff. –;Douglas Diary (Hist. of Parl. trans.), , Apr. ; Herts. RO,Panshanger mss, D/EP F, p. ; Cobbett, vi. ; Tindal, ;Wentworth Pprs. –; BL, Trumbull Alphab. mss , ThomasBateman to Sir William Trumbull*, Apr. ; Bodl. Ballard ,f. ; Glos. RO, Ducie mss, Da/c/, [–] to Matthew DucieMoreton*, [?] May . 16HMC th Rep. IX. –;Wentworth Pprs. , ; HMC Portland, v. , ; vi. –;Carswell, –, –, , , , –, ; Vyner mss, ,parcel T./, indenture for repayments by Aislabie, Mar. ;Clerk Mems. –; Fountains Abbey (Surtees Soc. xli), ; Yorks.Diaries, , ; HMC Hastings, iii. ; Yorks. Arch. Jnl. xxvii. ;Fountains Abbey (Surtees Soc. lxvii), –; Ripon Millenary, .

E. C./C. I. M.

ALCOCK(E), Lawrence (–), ofMidhurst and Trotton Place, Suss.

M (Feb.)–

bap. June , st s. of Lawrence Alcock, ?filazer,protonotary and exigenter for Monmouth –d., ofMidhurst, by his w. Jane. educ. New Coll. Oxf. ; I.Temple . m. lic. May , Anne (d. ), da. ofEdward Fuller of Watford, Herts. s. ( d.v.p.) da. suc.fa. .1

Alcock’s father had settled at Midhurst in the mid-th century, when he began buying burgages there inalliance with the viscounts Montagu, lords of theborough, subsequently becoming steward there.Alcock himself was returned for Midhurst inFebruary a few years after coming of age andcontinued to represent the borough until . He wasclassed as a Tory by Robert Harley* in December though was not an active Member. In January he was given three weeks’ leave of absence for hishealth. In October he was noted as a probablesupporter of the Tack, but after being lobbied byHarley voted against it on Nov. On Nov. he hadbeen given days’ absence due to his wife’s illness.Classed as ‘Low Church’ on a list of about June ,he voted against the Court candidate for Speaker on Oct. and was listed as a Tory in early . Inanother list of , updated with the election returns,he was also classed as a Tory, and in he votedagainst the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell. He wasgiven leave of absence for his health in January .Having as usual been returned for Midhurst in ,he subsequently appeared in published lists as one ofthe ‘Tory patriots’ who opposed the continuance ofthe war, and as one of the ‘worthy patriots’ who, in thefirst session of this Parliament, detected the misman-agements of the previous administration. He did notstand again after and died on July . Sinceall his own sons died without issue, the propertypassed to his daughter’s second son, John Radcliffe,who was to sit for St. Albans in .2

1Berry, Suss. Gens. ; Add. , f. ; London Mar. Lic. ed.Foster, ; PCC Pott. 2Cowdray Archs. ed. Dibben, ; PCC Richmond.

P. W.

ALDWORTH, Charles (c.–), of Frogmore,Berks. and Somerset House, Westminster.

N W Jan. – Sept.

b. c., o. s. of William Aldworth† of Frogmore by hisw. Anne. educ. King’s, Camb. ; I. Temple ,called . unm. suc. fa. .1

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