Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, PC,FRS (23 July 1666 – 28 April 1732) was an EnglishWhig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1710. He was Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and acted briefly as one of the regents before the arrival of King George I in Britain. His career ended when he was convicted of corruption on a massive scale and he spent the later years of his life in retirement at his home, Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire.
Parker was born in Staffordshire, the son of Thomas Parker, an attorney at Leek and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert Venables of Nuneham, Cheshire. Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet, a leading figure in Irish public life for three decades, was his first cousin. He was educated at Adams' Grammar School at Newport, Shropshire, Derby School in 1680 and at Rev. Samuel Ogden's school at Derby. He was admitted at Inner Temple in 1684 and at Trinity College, Cambridge as a pensioner in 1685.[2] On 23 April 1691, he married Janet Carrier, whose sister was the wife of William Anson and mother of the future Admiral Lord Anson. He was called to the bar in 1694.[3] Together they had two children:
Parker was returned as Whig Member of Parliament for Derby at the 1705 English general election and was appointed QC and serjeant-at-law and knighted on 9 July 1705. He was returned unopposed for Derby at the 1708 British general election. Like other Whigs, he voted for the general naturalization of foreign Protestants in 1709. Being one of the leading Whig lawyers in the House of Commons, he was deeply involved in the moves to impeach Dr Sacheverell. He was appointed to the committee to draw up the articles of impeachment on 14 December 1709. The committee was later given the management of the trial. In 1710 he refused the office of Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, but was made a Privy Counsellor. The office of Lord Chief Justice fell vacant in 1710 and the administration wanted a quick replacement. Parker was appointed on 11 March 1710 and vacated his seat in the House of Commons.[3]
From 1710 to 1718 Parker was involved in the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell. He made a vehement attack on Sacheverell and the high church clergy. He defended Whig propagandists and harried Tory publicists, including Defoe and Swift, on the slightest suspicion of favouring the Pretender. He spoke against the peace in the Privy Council in April 1713. In June 1714 he was given evidence of the recruiting activity of Jacobite agents which resulted in a price being placed on the Pretender's head.[3] On 1 August 1714, Queen Anne died, and her successor, King George I, was in Hanover, so Baron Parker was designated as one of the regents of Great Britain, Ireland and the realms beyond the seas until the new monarch arrived in Britain. His support for the Hanoverian succession was appreciated by King George I who reappointed him lord chief justice in 1714, and raised him to the peerage as Baron Parker of Macclesfield in 1716, in which year he purchased, and then commenced to restore, Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire, which was to be the seat of the house of Macclesfield for the next 300 years. In 1718, because the King could not speak English, Parker read the King's Speech in the House of Lords.
Lord Chancelloredit
In 1718, Parker became Lord Chancellor, and was given a pension for life. In 1721, he was advanced to the title Earl of Macclesfield with the additional subsidiary title of Viscount Parker.
Impeachmentedit
In 1724, Parker was implicated in financial irregularities, but he did not resign as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain until 1725. In 1725, he was impeached and tried in the House of Lords. He was, unanimously, convicted of corruption for taking more than £100,000 in bribes (the equivalent of more than £11,000,000 today). He was fined £30,000 and placed in the Tower of London until payment was received. He was also struck off the roll of the Privy Council. He was a fabulously wealthy man, possibly because of his corruption, but as this money was confiscated, he had no resources to pay a fine. He spent most of the rest of his life at Shirburn Castle. He died in Soho Square, London on 28 April 1732 and was buried at Shirburn.[3]
Parker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1713. He was a friend of Bernard de Mandeville, whose satirical Fable of the Bees became highly controversial in the 1720s. He was patron of a grammar school built at Leek, his home town. In 1727, he was a pallbearer at the funeral of another friend, Sir Isaac Newton.
thomas, parker, earl, macclesfield, july, 1666, april, 1732, english, whig, politician, house, commons, from, 1705, 1710, lord, chief, justice, from, 1710, 1718, acted, briefly, regents, before, arrival, king, george, britain, career, ended, when, convicted, c. Thomas Parker 1st Earl of Macclesfield PC FRS 23 July 1666 28 April 1732 was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1710 He was Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and acted briefly as one of the regents before the arrival of King George I in Britain His career ended when he was convicted of corruption on a massive scale and he spent the later years of his life in retirement at his home Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire The Right HonourableThe Earl of MacclesfieldPC FRSPortrait after Sir Godfrey Kneller 1712 Lord High Chancellor of Great BritainIn office 12 May 1718 7 January 1725MonarchGeorge IPrime MinisterSir Robert Walpole 1721 1725 Preceded byIn CommissionSucceeded byIn CommissionPersonal detailsBorn 1666 07 23 23 July 1666Staffordshire EnglandDied28 April 1732 1732 04 28 aged 65 OccupationPoliticianArms of Parker Earls of Macclesfield Gules a chevron between three leopard s faces or 1 Contents 1 Early life 2 Political career 3 Lord Chief Justice 4 Lord Chancellor 5 Impeachment 6 References 7 External linksEarly life editParker was born in Staffordshire the son of Thomas Parker an attorney at Leek and his wife Anne daughter of Robert Venables of Nuneham Cheshire Sir Richard Levinge 1st Baronet a leading figure in Irish public life for three decades was his first cousin He was educated at Adams Grammar School at Newport Shropshire Derby School in 1680 and at Rev Samuel Ogden s school at Derby He was admitted at Inner Temple in 1684 and at Trinity College Cambridge as a pensioner in 1685 2 On 23 April 1691 he married Janet Carrier whose sister was the wife of William Anson and mother of the future Admiral Lord Anson He was called to the bar in 1694 3 Together they had two children Lady Elizabeth Parker d 21 Feb 1747 married Sir William Heathcote 1st Baronet They had six sons and three daughters George Parker 2nd Earl of Macclesfield circa 1697 17 Mar 1764 Political career editParker was returned as Whig Member of Parliament for Derby at the 1705 English general election and was appointed QC and serjeant at law and knighted on 9 July 1705 He was returned unopposed for Derby at the 1708 British general election Like other Whigs he voted for the general naturalization of foreign Protestants in 1709 Being one of the leading Whig lawyers in the House of Commons he was deeply involved in the moves to impeach Dr Sacheverell He was appointed to the committee to draw up the articles of impeachment on 14 December 1709 The committee was later given the management of the trial In 1710 he refused the office of Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain but was made a Privy Counsellor The office of Lord Chief Justice fell vacant in 1710 and the administration wanted a quick replacement Parker was appointed on 11 March 1710 and vacated his seat in the House of Commons 3 Lord Chief Justice edit nbsp The Earl of Macclesfield by Sir Godfrey Kneller From 1710 to 1718 Parker was involved in the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell He made a vehement attack on Sacheverell and the high church clergy He defended Whig propagandists and harried Tory publicists including Defoe and Swift on the slightest suspicion of favouring the Pretender He spoke against the peace in the Privy Council in April 1713 In June 1714 he was given evidence of the recruiting activity of Jacobite agents which resulted in a price being placed on the Pretender s head 3 On 1 August 1714 Queen Anne died and her successor King George I was in Hanover so Baron Parker was designated as one of the regents of Great Britain Ireland and the realms beyond the seas until the new monarch arrived in Britain His support for the Hanoverian succession was appreciated by King George I who reappointed him lord chief justice in 1714 and raised him to the peerage as Baron Parker of Macclesfield in 1716 in which year he purchased and then commenced to restore Shirburn Castle in Oxfordshire which was to be the seat of the house of Macclesfield for the next 300 years In 1718 because the King could not speak English Parker read the King s Speech in the House of Lords Lord Chancellor editIn 1718 Parker became Lord Chancellor and was given a pension for life In 1721 he was advanced to the title Earl of Macclesfield with the additional subsidiary title of Viscount Parker Impeachment editIn 1724 Parker was implicated in financial irregularities but he did not resign as Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain until 1725 In 1725 he was impeached and tried in the House of Lords He was unanimously convicted of corruption for taking more than 100 000 in bribes the equivalent of more than 11 000 000 today He was fined 30 000 and placed in the Tower of London until payment was received He was also struck off the roll of the Privy Council He was a fabulously wealthy man possibly because of his corruption but as this money was confiscated he had no resources to pay a fine He spent most of the rest of his life at Shirburn Castle He died in Soho Square London on 28 April 1732 and was buried at Shirburn 3 Parker was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1713 He was a friend of Bernard de Mandeville whose satirical Fable of the Bees became highly controversial in the 1720s He was patron of a grammar school built at Leek his home town In 1727 he was a pallbearer at the funeral of another friend Sir Isaac Newton References edit Debrett s Peerage 1968 p 723 Parker Thomas PRKR685T A Cambridge Alumni Database University of Cambridge a b c d PARKER Thomas 1667 1732 of Bridge Street Derby and Essex Street London History of Parliament Online Retrieved 3 June 2019 External links editManuscript reference everything on line reference document relating to his impeachment How Much Is That Worth Today Parliament of EnglandPreceded byJohn HarpurThomas Stanhope Member of Parliament for Derby1705 1707 With Lord James Cavendish Parliament of Great BritainParliament of Great BritainParliament of England Member of Parliament for Derby1707 1710 With Lord James Cavendish Succeeded byLord James CavendishRichard PyeLegal officesPreceded bySir John Holt Lord Chief Justice of the King s Bench1710 1718 Succeeded bySir John PrattPolitical officesPreceded byThe Lord Cowper Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain1718 1725 In commissionTitle next held byThe Lord KingHonorary titlesPreceded byThe Earl of Northampton Custos Rotulorum of Warwickshire1719 1728 Succeeded byThe Duke of MontaguPeerage of Great BritainNew creation Earl of Macclesfield1721 1732 Succeeded byGeorge ParkerBaron Parker1714 1732 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Thomas Parker 1st Earl of Macclesfield amp oldid 1177961052, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
