Sir Hugh Acland, 5th Baronet (ca. 1639 – 9 March 1714) was an English

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

, from a family of Devonshire gentry. He obtained a confirmation of the family baronetcy in 1678, and served as a Member of Parliament for two boroughs in Devon in 1679 and from 1685 to 1687. Never very active in national politics, he was one of the many Tories estranged by James II's pro-Catholicism, but remained a Tory after the Glorious Revolution. He continued to hold local office in Devon off and on until his death in 1714, when he was succeeded by his grandson.

Career

He was a younger son of Sir John Acland, 1st Baronet and his wife Elizabeth. He matriculated at

Exeter College, Oxford (Let Exeter Flourish) , old_names = ''Stapeldon Hall'' , named_for = Walter de Stapledon, Bishop of Exeter , established = , sister_college = Emmanuel College, Cambridge , rector = Sir Richard Trainor ...

on 27 November 1652 and received his B.A. on 22 June 1655. He was appointed a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the s ...

for Devon in 1670, and in 1672, he succeeded his nephew

Arthur Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

as baronet and inherited an estate worth £2,000 per year. In 1673, he was appointed a commissioner for assessment in Devon, and unsuccessfully contested a by-election at Tiverton following the death of

Sir Thomas Carew, 1st Baronet Sir Thomas Carew, 1st Baronet (1632 – September 1673) of Haccombe, Devon, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1661 to 1674. Origins He was baptised on 21 June 1632 and was the eldest son and heir of Thomas Carew (d. ...

. He was appointed to the commission on recusants in 1675 and made a freeman of

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

; in 1676, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant of the county. The family baronetcy was of somewhat uncertain status; the

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, tit ...

to his father were either lost during the confusion of the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

or never passed the seals. Sir Hugh's predecessors in the baronetcy had generally died in their minorities and had not pursued the claim. Hugh obtained new letters patent dated 21 January 1678 which confirmed the original grant and granted

precedence Precedence may refer to: * Message precedence of military communications traffic * Order of precedence, the ceremonial hierarchy within a nation or state * Order of operations, in mathematics and computer programming * Precedence Entertainment, ...

to the baronetcy of the original date of issue, 24 June 1644. Acland again stood for Parliament for

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

in the spring 1679 election and was successfully returned. He was not an active member and, though thought to be a Court supporter, was absent from the division on the

exclusion bill The Exclusion Crisis ran from 1679 until 1681 in the reign of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. Three Exclusion bills sought to exclude the King's brother and heir presumptive, James, Duke of York, from the thrones of England, Sco ...

. He did not stand again in the fall 1679 election. In 1680, he left the Devon committee for assessment; he was already a colonel of militia foot by this time. He stood for

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

in the 1681 election but was defeated. Appointed a justice of the peace and an alderman for Tiverton in 1683, he was returned to Parliament for that constituency as a Tory in 1685, and elected mayor of the town the following year. He was also appointed a JP for

South Molton South Molton is a town in Devon, England. It is part of the North Devon local government district. The town is on the River Mole. According to the 2001 census the civil parish of South Molton had a population of 4,093, increasing to 5,108 at the ...

in 1684. After the collapse of the

Monmouth Rebellion The Monmouth Rebellion, also known as the Pitchfork Rebellion, the Revolt of the West or the West Country rebellion, was an attempt to depose James II, who in February 1685 succeeded his brother Charles II as king of England, Scotland and Ir ...

, he was appointed a commissioner for rebels' estates. Once again, he was largely inactive in Parliament, serving on the committee to prevent the export of wool. In 1687, the Tiverton corporation was remodelled by

quo warranto In law, especially English and American common law, ''quo warranto'' (Medieval Latin for "by what warrant?") is a prerogative writ requiring the person to whom it is directed to show what authority they have for exercising some right, power, or ...

proceedings and he was removed from his offices there. In July 1688 he joined with many of the Devonshire gentry in repeating the temporizing answer given by Sir Edward Seymour to the "Three Questions" of James II, and was consequently dismissed from his county offices. Acland was reappointed a JP for Devon in October 1688 and served on the commission for assessment again from 1689 to 1690. He was

High Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative ...

in 1690. He refused to sign the Association in 1696 and was removed from the bench at this time. Reappointed in 1700, he apparently refused a deputy lieutenancy in 1701 due to a quarrel with Sir Edward Seymour. Off the bench again in 1702, he was appointed to the deputy lieutenancy again in 1703 and a JP for the third time in about 1704. He continued to serve in these posts throughout the reign of Queen Anne, and died on 9 March 1714.

Family

He married Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Daniel of Beswick Hall, Yorkshire, on 19 March 1674 and had seven children: * John Acland (c. 1674 – 1703) *Hugh Acland *Rev. Thomas Acland (d. 11 September 1735),

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

South Brent South Brent is a large village on the southern edge of Dartmoor, Dartmoor, England, in the valley of the River Avon, Devon, River Avon. The parish includes the small hamlets of Aish, South Brent, Aish, Harbourneford, Lutton, South Brent, Lutton ...

and

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of th ...

of Exeter, married Catherine Wilcocks on 12 February 1712 and had issue *Arthur Daniel Acland (d. 1690–1), died without issue *Charles Acland (d. 1713) *Francis Acland (d. 1719), a merchant in Coimbra, died without issue *Elizabeth Acland (d. 1694) On his death in 1714 he was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson, his eldest son John having predeceased him. He was buried on 9 March 1713 or 1714 at

Broadclyst Broadclyst is a village and civil parish in the East Devon local government district. It lies approximately 5 miles northeast of the city of Exeter, Devon, England, on the B3181. In 2001 its population was 2,830, reducing at the 2011 Census to 1 ...

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Acland, Hugh 1630s births 1714 deaths Hugh 1639 Acland of Columb John, 05th Baronet Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Year of birth uncertain Deputy Lieutenants of Devon High Sheriffs of Devon Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Barnstaple English MPs 1679 English MPs 1685–1687 English justices of the peace