Sir Thomas Culpeper, 3rd Baronet, also known as Colepeper, (c. 1656 – 18 May 1723) of

Preston Hall, Aylesford Preston Hall is a former manorial home and associated estate in Aylesford in the English county of Kent. It dates to the Norman period and was owned by the Culpepper family for over 400 years. Part of the estate became the Royal British Legio ...

, Kent was an English landowner and Whig politician who sat in the

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 ...

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 1705 and 1723.

Early life

Culpeper was the son of Sir Richard Culpeper, 2nd Baronet of Preston Hall, and his wife Margaret Reynolds. He inherited the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

and Preston Hall in infancy on the death of his father on 10 January 1660. He matriculated at

Magdalen Hall, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main gate to the Bodleian Library. The colle ...

on 15 June 1672 aged 15.Culpeper Archives - Oxford Alumni
/ref> He took as his mistress Lady Elizabeth Wythens, the wife of

Sir Francis Wythens ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

, of Southend, Eltham, Kent which led to great acrimony. In 1693 Lady Wythens tried to have her husband incarcerated in a debtors' prison. In November 1696 Wythens raised a charge of assault against Culpeper and Sir Thomas Taylor, 2nd Baronet, Lady Wythens' brother, but failed to gain a conviction when several worthies testified to Culpeper's 'great worth and honour'. After Wythens' death on 9 May 1704, Culpeper married his widow on 23 August 1704, but it was reported that he never lived with her as a husband.

Career

Culpeper was

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instru ...

in 1704. 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 ...

he was returned as a Whig Member of Parliament (MP) for

Maidstone, Kent Maidstone is the largest town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, linking it with Rochester and the T ...

. He voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705, but, probably in support of the Country Whigs, he voted against the Court on the ‘place clause’ of the regency bill, on 18 February 1706. He was returned as a Whig again 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 ...

and he voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and the for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

, he topped the poll, but is not recorded in any divisions in that Parliament. He decided not to stand at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

. At the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...

, Culpeper was returned again as MP for Maidstone. He voted for the septennial bill in 1716, and against the

Peerage Bill {{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope, and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, which would have largely halted th ...

. He was returned again at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

Death and legacy

Culpeper died without issue on 18 May 1723 at the age of 66 and the baronetcy became extinct. His estates passed to his sister Alicia's son, Sir Thomas Taylor, 3rd Baronet. He also left 500 guineas to Lady Catharine Twisden, born Wythens, who may have been Culpeper's natural daughter, and 100 guineas to mistress Swayne, 'her woman', for faithful service.

References

1650s births 1723 deaths High sheriffs of Kent English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1715–1722 Baronets in the Baronetage of England {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub