Francis Whitworth (9 May 1684 – 6 March 1742), of

Leybourne Leybourne is a village and civil parish in Kent, England situated off Junction 4 of the M20 motorway, M20 Motorway. Leybourne is adjacent to New Hythe, East Malling and Larkfield, Larkfield and West Malling. As of 2020, Leybourne Parish had a po ...

, Kent and Blackford, near Minehead, Somerset, 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 1723 to 1742.

Early life

Whitworth was the sixth son of Richard Whitworth of Batchacre Park, in Adbaston, Staffordshire and his wife Anne Mosley, daughter of Rev. Francis Mosley of Wilmslow, Cheshire. 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 ...

in 1701.

Career

Whitworth was appointed to a sinecure post as Secretary for Barbados in 1719. At the 1722 general election he stood for Parliament at

Minehead Minehead is a coastal town and civil parish in Somerset, England. It lies on the south bank of the Bristol Channel, north-west of the county town of Taunton, from the boundary with the county of Devon and close to the Exmoor National Park. T ...

being assured by Lord Carteret that the government would support him. He was defeated in a fierce contest, but when he presented a petition, he was persuaded to withdraw it. He was returned as Member of Parliament for Minehead at a by-election 24 May 1723. In 1724 he acquired the Grange,

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

and Manor of

in Kent. He retained the Minehead seat in

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

, and when a petition was raised against him the government prevented its being heard. About this time he strengthened his interest by buying an estate of Blackford near Minehead. He also applied for his son to be granted the reversion of the secretary of Barbados, claiming that George I had consented to this but had died before he had signed the warrant. This application was unsuccessful and he retained the post for the rest of his life. Whitworth made his first recorded Parliamentary speech, in support of the Hessian troops, on 3 February 1731. In 1732 he obtained the post of Surveyor of Woods and Forests North and South of Trent worth £1,000 a year and he held it for the rest of his life. He was active in the interests of his constituents, particularly when they were threatened by commercial competition from Ireland and the colonies. On 12 April 1732 he spoke against a proposal to remove the duty on Irish yarn, and on 10 March 1732 he successfully moved for a bill to stop the free of duty importation of hops from New England into Ireland. He spoke on the Charitable Corporation bill on 15 May 1732; seconded the army vote, and was abused by the mob outside the House on the withdrawal of 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 ...

. On 10 May 1733 he opposed a petition from the trustees for Georgia for more money.as he was against the enlargement of colonies, and ‘wished New England at the bottom of the sea.’ He was returned unopposed at the 1734 general election. He made his last recorded speeches, in 1734 and 1735, which were concerned with local interests at Minehead. He was returned unopposed 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 was frequently absent, probably on account of illness.

Personal life

Around 1720, he married Joan Windham of Clarewell, Gloucestershire. Together, they were the parents of Charles Whitworth. Whitworth died on 6 March 1742 leaving one son

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

. He was the younger brother of Charles Whitworth, 1st Baron Whitworth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitworth, Francis 1684 births 1742 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747