Sir Charles Frederick KB FRS (21 December 170918 December 1785) was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1741 to 1784. Sir Charles Frederick

Early life

Frederick was the third son of Sir Thomas Frederick, sometime Governor of Fort St David, and his wife Mary Moncrieff, daughter of William Moncrieff and was born on 21 December 1709. He was a younger brother of Sir John Frederick, 4th Baronet. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

from 1719 to 1720 and matriculated at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

on 19 March 1725. In 1728 he entered

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

. He was elected a

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

in May 1733. He undertook a Grand Tour through Italy, Constantinople, the near East and France with his brother John from 1737 to 1739.

Political career

Frederick was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for New Shoreham in the 1741 general election and also in 1747. In the 1754 general election he was elected as MP for Queenborough in a contest. He was made a Knight Companion of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by King George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. Recipients of the Order are usually senior British Armed Forces, military officers or senior Civil Service ...

in 1761. He was re-elected unopposed for Queenborough in

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: In India, the armies of the Durrani Empire from Afghanistan, led by Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, killing over 1 ...

and 1768 and topped the poll when the seat was contested in 1774. He was returned again for Queenborough unopposed in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

. He was briefly Father of the House from June 1784. Frederick was also appointed Clerk of the Deliveries in 1746 and promoted to Surveyor-General of the Ordnance in 1750. In 1782 however, he and his son were both removed from the

Board of Ordnance The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence ...

by the then

Master-General of the Ordnance The Master-General of the Ordnance (MGO) was a very senior British military position from 1415 to 2013 (except 1855–1895 and 1939–1958) with some changes to the name, usually held by a serving general. The Master-General of the Ordnance was ...

, Charles Lennox, 3rd Duke of Richmond. His son, who was Architect of the Ordnance, was succeeded by

James Wyatt James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the Neoclassicism, neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy of Arts in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to ...

who went on to build both the

Royal Artillery Barracks Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison. History In 171 ...

and the

Royal Military Academy, Woolwich The Royal Military Academy (RMA) at Woolwich, in south-east London, was a British Army military academy for the training of Officer (armed forces), commissioned officers of the Royal Artillery and Royal Engineers. It later also trained officers o ...

.Saint & Guillery (2012), pp. 146, 148, 328.

Family and legacy

Frederick married Lucy Boscawen, daughter of the first Viscount Falmouth on 18 August 1746. His great-grandson Charles Edward later succeeded to the family title as 7th Baronet. Frederick died on 18 December 1785. Frederick Place in

Woolwich Woolwich () is a town in South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was mainta ...

is named after him.

References

* (2012): ''Woolwich - Survey of London, Volume 48'', Yale Books, London.
online text
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Frederick, Charles 1709 births 1785 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of New College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple Knights Companion of the Order of the Bath Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Fellows of the Royal Society