Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, (23 July 1666 – 28 April 1732) was an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

Whig 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 1705 to 1710. He was Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and acted briefly as one of the

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

s before the arrival of King George I in Britain. His career ended when he was convicted of corruption on a massive scale and he spent the later years of his life in retirement at his home,

Shirburn Castle Shirburn Castle is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed, moated castle located at the village of Shirburn, near Watlington, Oxfordshire, Watlington, Oxfordshire. Originally constructed in the fourteenth century, it was renovated and remode ...

in Oxfordshire.

Early life

Parker was born in

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, the son of Thomas Parker, an attorney at

Leek A leek is a vegetable, a cultivar of ''Allium ampeloprasum'', the broadleaf wild leek (synonym (taxonomy), syn. ''Allium porrum''). The edible part of the plant is a bundle of Leaf sheath, leaf sheaths that is sometimes erroneously called a "s ...

and his wife Anne, daughter of Robert Venables of Nuneham, Cheshire.

Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet Sir Richard Levinge, 1st Baronet (2 May 1656 – 13 July 1724) was an Irish politician and judge, who played a leading part in Irish public life for more than 30 years. Background Levinge was born at Leek, Staffordshire, the second son of Ric ...

, a leading figure in Irish public life for three decades, was his first cousin. He was educated at

Adams' Grammar School Haberdashers' Adams Grammar School is a selective state grammar school for high-achieving boys and girls aged 11–18 with boarding for boys, located in Newport, Shropshire, offering day and boarding education. As of 2024, boarding fees are £14, ...

at Newport, Shropshire,

Derby School Derby School was a school in Derby in the English Midlands from 1160 to 1989. It had an almost continuous history of education of over eight centuries. For most of that time it was a grammar school for boys. The school became co-educational a ...

in 1680 and at Rev. Samuel Ogden's school at Derby. He was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

in 1684 and at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

as a pensioner in 1685. On 23 April 1691, he married Janet Carrier, whose sister was the wife of William Anson and mother of the future Admiral Lord Anson. He was called to the bar in 1694. Together they had two children: *Lady Elizabeth Parker (d. 21 Feb 1747) married

Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet (15 March 1693 – 10 May 1751), of Hursley, Hampshire, was a British merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1722 and 1741. Heathcote was the second son of Samuel Heathcote, Esq., of Ha ...

. They had six sons and three daughters. *

George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, FRS ( 17 March 1764) was a British politician and astronomer. Biography George was tutored by Welsh mathematician William Jones, who went on to become the first person to use the symbol (the Greek ...

(circa 1697 – 17 Mar 1764)

Political career

Parker was returned as Whig Member of Parliament for

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

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 ...

and was appointed QC and serjeant-at-law and

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

ed on 9 July 1705. He was returned unopposed for Derby at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

. Like other Whigs, he voted for the general naturalization of foreign Protestants in 1709. Being one of the leading Whig lawyers in the House of Commons, he was deeply involved in the moves to impeach Dr Sacheverell. He was appointed to the committee to draw up the articles of impeachment on 14 December 1709. The committee was later given the management of the trial. In 1710 he refused the office of

Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain The Lord Chancellor, formally titled Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom. The lord chancellor is the minister of justice for England and Wales and the highest-ra ...

, but was made 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 ...

. The office of

Lord Chief Justice The Lord or Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales and the president of the courts of England and Wales. Until 2005 the lord chief justice was the second-most senior judge of the English a ...

fell vacant in 1710 and the administration wanted a quick replacement. Parker was appointed on 11 March 1710 and vacated his seat in the House of Commons.

Lord Chief Justice

From 1710 to 1718 Parker was involved in the prosecution of

Henry Sacheverell Henry Sacheverell (; 8 February 1674 – 5 June 1724) was an English high church Anglican clergyman who achieved nationwide fame in 1709 after preaching an incendiary 5 November sermon. He was subsequently impeached by the House of Commons and ...

. He made a vehement attack on Sacheverell and the high church clergy. He defended Whig propagandists and harried Tory publicists, including Defoe and Swift, on the slightest suspicion of favouring the Pretender. He spoke against the peace in the Privy Council in April 1713. In June 1714 he was given evidence of the recruiting activity of Jacobite agents which resulted in a price being placed on the Pretender's head. On 1 August 1714, Queen Anne died, and her successor, King George I, was in

Hanover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

, so Baron Parker was designated as one of the regents of Great Britain, Ireland and the realms beyond the seas until the new monarch arrived in Britain. His support for the Hanoverian succession was appreciated by King George I who reappointed him lord chief justice in 1714, and raised him to the peerage as Baron Parker of Macclesfield in 1716, in which year he purchased, and then commenced to restore,

in Oxfordshire, which was to be the seat of the house of Macclesfield for the next 300 years. In 1718, because the King could not speak English, Parker read the King's Speech in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

Lord Chancellor

In 1718, Parker became Lord Chancellor, and was given a pension for life. In 1721, he was advanced to the title

Earl of Macclesfield Earl of Macclesfield is a title that has been created twice. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1679 in favour of the soldier and politician Charles Gerard, 1st Baron Gerard. He had already been created Baron Gerard, of Bran ...

with the additional subsidiary title of Viscount Parker.

Impeachment

In 1724, Parker was implicated in financial irregularities, but he did not resign as

until 1725. In 1725, he was

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

and tried in the

. He was, unanimously, convicted of corruption for taking more than £100,000 in bribes (the equivalent of more than £11,000,000 today). He was fined £30,000 and placed in the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic citadel and castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London, England. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamle ...

until payment was received. He was also struck off the roll of the Privy Council. He was a fabulously wealthy man, possibly because of his corruption, but as this money was confiscated, he had no resources to pay a fine. He spent most of the rest of his life at Shirburn Castle. He died in

Soho Square Soho Square is a garden square in Soho, London, hosting since 1954 a ''de facto'' public park leasehold estate, let by the Soho Square Garden Committee to Westminster City Council. It was originally called King Square after Charles II of Engla ...

, London on 28 April 1732 and was buried at Shirburn. Parker 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 1713. He was a friend of

Bernard de Mandeville Bernard Mandeville, or Bernard de Mandeville (; 15 November 1670 – 21 January 1733), was an Anglo-Dutch philosopher, political economist, satirist, writer and physician. Born in Rotterdam, he lived most of his life in England and used English ...

, whose satirical ''Fable of the Bees'' became highly controversial in the 1720s. He was patron of a grammar school built at

, his home town. In 1727, he was a pallbearer at the funeral of another friend, Sir

Isaac Newton Sir Isaac Newton () was an English polymath active as a mathematician, physicist, astronomer, alchemist, theologian, and author. Newton was a key figure in the Scientific Revolution and the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment that followed ...

References

External links

Manuscript reference

'everything'
on-line reference
document
relating to his impeachment.
How Much Is That Worth Today?
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Macclesfield, Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of 1666 births 1732 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 Fellows of the Royal Society Lord chancellors of Great Britain Lord chief justices of England and Wales Parker, Thomas Parker, Thomas Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain People from Leek, Staffordshire British politicians convicted of corruption People educated at Adams' Grammar School People educated at Derby School People expelled from the Privy Council of Great Britain 18th-century regents

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Parker, Thomas Politicians from Staffordshire

201 Year 201 ( CCI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Fabianus and Arrius (or, less frequently, year 954 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 201 for this yea ...

Impeached British officials