Chomley Turner (1685–1757) of

Kirkleatham Kirkleatham is an area of Redcar in the borough of Redcar and Cleveland in North Yorkshire, England. It is approximately north-northwest of Guisborough, and south of Redcar centre. It was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. The area has a ...

, Yorkshire was a British landowner and 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 ...

between 1715 and 1747.

Early life and family

Turner was baptized on 20 July 1685, the eldest son of Charles Turner of Kirkleatham and his wife Margaret Cholmley, daughter of Sir William Cholmley, 2nd Baronet., of Whitby, Yorkshire. He 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 ...

in 1701. He was a wealthy country gentleman, and owned properties in

Northallerton Northallerton ( ) is a market town and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is near the River Wiske in the Vale of Mowbray and had a population of 16,832 in 2011. Northallerton is an administrative centre for York and North Yorkshire ...

and along Tees side. He also had lead mining interests in the North Riding of Yorkshire. His great uncle Sir William Turner died in 1693 and bequeathed him a substantial amount of money to establish a Free School, which was built in 1709. He married Jane Marwood, daughter of George Marwood of Little Busby, Yorkshire in 1709. His daughter, Jane, married Philip William Casimir Van Straubenzee.

Career

Turner was returned as a Whig Member of Parliament for

at the 1715 general election. He followed

Robert Walpole Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford (; 26 August 1676 – 18 March 1745), known between 1725 and 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British Whigs (British political party), Whig statesman who is generally regarded as the ''de facto'' first Prim ...

into opposition in 1717, and voted against the Government in all recorded divisions. He did not stand at the 1722 general election. In 1725, he was High steward of York. Turner was returned as MP for

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

at a by-election on 1 February 1727 and followed it up being returned at the 1727 general election. In Parliament, he took a very independent line. He spoke on the opposition side in a debate on foreign affairs on 5 February 1729, and voted against the Government on the Hessians in 1730, the army in 1732, and the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Excise officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

in 1733, but voted for the Government on the repeal of the Septennial Act in 1734. He said he would not stand at the next election, but changed his mind on receiving an invitation from the Whig county meeting at York. He was re-elected after a tough contest at the 1734 general election and voted with the Government on the navy estimates in February 1735, when he may have been influenced by the petition which was raised against his return. He also voted for the Spanish convention in 1739. He refused again to stand in

1741 Events January–March * January 13 ** Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. ** Conventicle Act of 1741 is introduced in Denmark-Norway. *February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain ...

but when a by-election was called he was adopted unanimously at another general Whig meeting and submitted to ‘the command of the gentlemen’. He was returned after a contest on 21 January 1742, and was elected to the secret committee of inquiry into Walpole's Administration, but never attended its meetings. His only vote in this Parliament was for the Hanoverians in 1744. In

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II ...

he finally retired.

Later life

Turner added other Grade I listed buildings to his estate, the most notable being the Turner Mausoleum, in memory of his son, and adjoining the Church of St Cuthbert. The mausoleum was built in 1739–40 by

James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was a Scottish architect. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transition between English Ba ...

. It is of Baroque style and of an octagonal plan. It is a single storey with a basement burial chamber. The exterior is heavily rusticated, with an unusually large area vermiculated. It contains the inscription, "This mausoleum was erected 1740 to the memory of Marwood William Turner Esquire the best of sons." Cholmley Turner also retained the architect James Gibbs for building of the chapel at the almshouses. After his retirement Turner received a Secret Service pension of £500 a year from Pelham, but this was not renewed when Newcastle succeeded to the Treasury. Turner died 9 May 1757, but his children pre-deceased him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, Cholmley 1685 births 1757 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747