Charles de Laet Waldo Sibthorp (14 February 1783 – 14 December 1855), popularly known as Colonel Sibthorp, was a widely caricatured

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Ultra-Tory The Ultra-Tories were an Anglican faction of British and Irish politics that appeared in the 1820s in opposition to Catholic emancipation. The faction was, in the twenty-first century, called the " extreme right-wing" of British and Irish polit ...

politician in the early 19th century. He sat as a Member of Parliament for

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the 16th president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln (na ...

from 1826 to 1832 and from 1835 until 1855. Sibthorp was born into a Lincoln

gentry Gentry (from Old French , from ) are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. ''Gentry'', in its widest connotation, refers to people of good social position connected to Landed property, landed es ...

family, the son of Colonel Humphrey Waldo Sibthorp, of Canwick Hall, by his wife Susannah, daughter of Richard Ellison, of Sudbrooke Holme, Lincolnshire. Charles's brother, Richard Waldo Sibthorp (1792–1879), was an Anglican priest who gained notoriety for his 1841 conversion to Roman Catholicism (and who subsequently returned to the Anglican Church). He was commissioned into the

Scots Greys The Royal Scots Greys was a cavalry regiment of the Army of Scotland that became a regiment of the British Army in 1707 upon the Union of Scotland and England, continuing until 1971 when they amalgamated with the 3rd Carabiniers (Prince of ...

in 1803, promoted

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

in 1806, and later transferred to the

4th Dragoon Guards The 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1685 as the Earl of Arran's Regiment of Cuirassiers. It was renamed as the 4th (Royal Irish) Dragoon Guards in 1788 and service for two centuries, inc ...

, in which he reached the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He did not serve abroad and continued in the service until 1822, when he succeeded to the family estates and also succeeded his brother as Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal South Lincolnshire Militia. In 1812, he married Maria Tottenham, daughter and co-heiress of

Ponsonby Tottenham Ponsonby Tottenham (1746 – 13 December 1818) was an Anglo-Irish politician. Biography Tottenham sat in the Irish House of Commons as the Member of Parliament for Fethard between 1779 and 1790, before sitting for Bannow from 1790 and 1797. He ...

, MP for Fethard, County Wexford; they had four children. They were divorced in 1828 due to his adultery with Sara Ward.

Member of Parliament

During Sibthorp's three decades in

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, he became renowned, along with

Sir Robert Inglis Sir Robert Harry Inglis, 2nd Baronet, FRS (12 January 1786 – 5 May 1855) was an English Conservative politician, noted for his staunch high church views. Family He was the son of Sir Hugh Inglis, a minor politician and MP for Ashburton ( ...

, as one of its most reactionary members. He stoutly opposed Catholic Emancipation,

Emancipation of the Jews in England Jewish emancipation in the United Kingdom was the culmination in the 19th century of efforts over several hundred years to loosen the legal restrictions set in place on England's Jewish population. Between 1833 and 1890 Parliament passed a series ...

, the

Reform Act 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

, the repeal of the

Corn Laws The Corn Laws were tariffs and other trade restrictions on imported food and corn enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846. The word ''corn'' in British English denotes all cereal grains, including wheat, oats and barley. The la ...

, the 1851

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and the construction of the

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of more than 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current di ...

. He was convinced that any changes from the Britain of his youth (in the late 18th century) were signs of degeneracy, that Britain was about to go bankrupt, and that the new

railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...

were a passing fad which would soon give way to a return to "chaises, carriages and

stages Stage, stages, or staging may refer to: Arts and media Acting * Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions * Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage" * ''The Stage'', a weekly Brit ...

". He was opposed to all foreign influences, and offended

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

with his public suspicions of

Prince Albert Prince Albert most commonly refers to: *Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1819–1861), consort of Queen Victoria *Albert II, Prince of Monaco (born 1958), present head of state of Monaco Prince Albert may also refer to: Royalty * Alb ...

, the prince consort. His political views, his bluntness in expressing them, and his eccentricities made him the target of both witticisms and

cartoons A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently Animation, animated, in an realism (arts), unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or s ...

in '' Punch''. He was returned to Parliament on eight occasions. Sibthorp died at his home in London, and was succeeded as MP by his son, Gervaise Waldo-Sibthorp.

Family

References

* S. Roberts & M. Acton "The Parliamentary Career of Charles De Laet Waldo Sibthorp 1826 - 55: Ultra Tory Opposition to reform in Nineteenth Century Britain" New York 2010. * Dodds, John W. ''The Age of Paradox : A Biography of England, 1841-1851''. Westport, Conn. : Greenwood, 1970

952 Year 952 (Roman numerals, CMLII) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Summer – At the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Reichstag in Augsburg (assembled by King Otto I (Holy Roman ...

* Michell, John. ''Eccentric Lives and Peculiar Notions'', 1984 . ;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sibthorp, Charles 1783 births 1855 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Royal Scots Greys officers 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards officers Royal Lincolnshire Regiment officers British Militia officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 Politics of Lincoln, England Ultra-Tory MPs