Edward Hopkins (c. 1675 – 17 January 1736) was a British Whig politician who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between 1701 and 1727 and in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

from 1721 to 1727. He held a number of government posts in Ireland.

Early life

Hopkins was the son of Richard Hopkins of Coventry, who was MP for that city. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

between 1687 and 1692 and matriculated at

Trinity College, Oxford Trinity College (full name: The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity in the University of Oxford, of the foundation of Sir Thomas Pope (Knight)) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in E ...

on 2 July 1692. Between 1696 and 1700 he went on a Grand Tour through Flanders, France and Italy.

Career

Hopkins was elected as a Whig Member of Parliament for

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

at the second general election of 1701, but lost the seat at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...

. He stood for Coventry again at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...

, although he could not attend the poll as he had fallen off his horse in Pall Mall. However the election turned into a riot, in which Hopkins and his fellow Whig candidate were defeated. A re-run of the election was held in 1707 and this time Hopkins was returned. He was elected again at the 1708 general election. In Parliament he was a teller for the Whigs on divisions, he voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. At the

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin ...

he was defeated in another hard contest. He transferred to

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

at the 1713 general election, where he was brought in on the interest of Lord Cornwallis. Hopkins was returned unopposed as MP for Eye at the 1715 general election. Although returned at the 1722 general election, he spent time in Ireland, He was Irish Commissioner of Revenue from 1716 to 1722 and was a Member of the

for

Dublin University The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

from 1721 to 1727. He was Chief Secretary to the Duke of Grafton when the latter was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland between 1721 and 1724. He was also appointed Master of the Revels for Ireland for life in 1722 and a

Privy Counsellor The Privy Council, formally His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the sovereign of the United Kingdom. Its members, known as privy counsellors, are mainly senior politicians who are current or former ...

for Ireland the same year. He did not stand in the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

Later life and legacy

Hopkins married Anna Maria Chamberlayne, the daughter and coheiress of Dr. Hugh Chamberlayne of Alderton Manor and Hinton Hall,

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, on 1 March 1725. He died on 17 January 1736, at

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a town in Surrey, England, south of Centre of London, central London and northeast of Epsom. At the 2011 United Kingdom census, 2011 Census, it had a population of 34,872. The majority (73%) was in the NRS social grade, ABC1 ...

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and was buried at St Michael's Church, Coventry, as were his parents, wife, and eldest son. The family monument described him as "a person eminently distinguished for parts, politeness and all other amiable qualities" and noted his death date as "January 17th, 1735-6". Flat stones marked their burial places. As

Coventry Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael, commonly known as Coventry Cathedral, is the seat of the Bishop of Coventry and the Diocese of Coventry within the Church of England. The cathedral is located in Coventry, West Midlands (county), West Midla ...

, the church was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He and his wife had three sons, who all died childless, and two daughters. He was succeeded by his eldest son Richard Hopkins, an MP for more than 30 years. His daughter Anne married William Northey, MP. The

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Staffordshire and Leicestershire to the north, Northamptonshire to the east, Ox ...

local historian

Mary Dormer Harris Mary Dormer Harris (1867–3 March 1936) was a British local historian whose focus was the medieval history of Coventry. She was also a translator, writer and suffragist. Early life Harris was born at Dale Farm, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, Ston ...

published an article about his memoirs in the ''

English Historical Review ''The English Historical Review'' is a bimonthly peer-reviewed academic journal that was established in 1886 and published by Oxford University Press (formerly by Longman). It publishes articles on all aspects of history – British, European, a ...

'', in 1919.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopkins, Edward 1670s births 1736 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Oxford English MPs 1701 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Dublin University Irish MPs 1715–1727 Chief secretaries for Ireland Members of Parliament for Coventry Masters of the Revels