Thomas Freke (17 January 1660 – 1721), of Hannington,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, was an English 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 1685 and 1710. Freke was the eldest son of Thomas Freke of Hinton St. Mary, Dorset and his second wife Elizabeth Clarke, daughter of Sir William Clarke of Ford Place, Wrotham, Kent. He matriculated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street, Oxford, Broad Street and Parks Road ...

on 19 March 1675, aged 15 and was also admitted at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1675. He married Elizabeth Pile, the daughter and coheiress of Thomas Pile of Baverstock, Wiltshire on 10 October 1683. He succeeded his great-uncle to Hannington Hall in 1684. Freke was returned as Member of Parliament for

Cricklade Cricklade is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in north Wiltshire, England, midway between Swindon and Cirencester. It is the first downstream town on the Thames. The parish population at the 2011 census was 4,227. History Cricklade ...

in a double return at the

1685 English general election The 1685 English general election elected the only parliament of James II of England, known as the Loyal Parliament. This was the first time the pejorative words Whigs (British political party), Whig and Tory were used as names for political gro ...

and was allowed to sit until 10 June 1685 when it was resolved against him. At the

1689 English general election The 1689 English general election, held in January 1689, elected the Convention Parliament, which was summoned in the aftermath of the Glorious Revolution. 513 Members of Parliament were returned, across 53 counties and 217 boroughs in England ...

he was defeated in the poll at Cricklade, but was seated on petition on 5 April 1689. He was returned as MP for Weymouth and Melcombe Regis at a by election on 22 May 1691 and was returned again at the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' su ...

. He declined to stand in 1701 for various reasons, including the disruption to his domestic life. Later, in 1701, his wife inherited the Shroton estates of another Thomas Freke and he took up residence there. He was undecided where to stand for Parliament again until 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 ...

when he was returned unopposed as MP for

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...

. He voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 October 1705. He was returned as a Whig for Lyme Regis in a contest 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 ...

. He voted for the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He retired from Parliament 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. ...

. Freke's wife, Elizabeth, died in 1714, and he married as his second wife, in December 1718, Mary Corbett. He died without issue in 1721 and the Hannington estate passed to his brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, the Socinian author.

References

1660 births 1721 deaths Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Members of the Middle Temple English MPs 1685–1687 English MPs 1689–1690 English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Cricklade Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lyme Regis Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Lyme Regis {{18thC-England-MP-stub