Thomas Vernon (1724–1771) was a landowner and Member of Parliament (MP) in eighteenth century

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He was the only son of Bowater Vernon (1683–1735), who had inherited Hanbury Hall,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

and large estates in Hanbury and elsewhere from his second cousin Thomas Vernon, who had died childless. Thomas was brought up in

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in the family home in

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, and was only 11 when his father died. After a spell at

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, he was elected as an MP for the Worcester constituency in 1746 to fill the vacancy created by the death of Thomas Winnington. He continued to represent Worcester till 1761. Vernon married Emma (1711–77), daughter of Vice Admiral Charles Cornwall of Berrington in

Herefordshire Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...

. It seems he first married her in the Mayfair Chapel, notorious for conducting clandestine marriages, and perhaps went through a second marriage when it became clear that a record of the first was not properly kept. No record of either marriage, of the christening of either of his children, Emma (1756–1818) or Thomas (born and died 1754), survives. Thomas was regarded as more sensible than his profligate father Bowater, and spent the last part of his life managing the family estates which stretched to nearly 10,000 acres (40 km²) in Hanbury,

Dodderhill Dodderhill is a civil parish, near Droitwich, Worcestershire, England, located on the River Salwarpe. The parish is bisected by the M5 motorway, constructed in 1962. It is home to the Droitwich transmitting station in Wychbold. History ...

Feckenham Feckenham is a village and civil parish in the Redditch district in Worcestershire, England. It lies some south-west of the town of Redditch and some east of the city of Worcester. It had a population of 670 in the 2001 census and its immedia ...

and

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in Worcestershire, and in Shropshire and Warwickshire. He died suddenly in December 1771, and left as his heir his only surviving child Emma, who, in 1776, married

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, later Earl, then Marquis, of Exeter.

References

*Vernon archive in Worcester County Record Office 705:7 BA7335. *Jeffrey Haworth, ''Guide Book to Hanbury Hall'' (National Trust) *Rate books for St George's Hanover Sq in Westminster City Archives; *Parish Register for Eye in Herefordshire County Record Office {{DEFAULTSORT:Vernon, Thomas 1724 births 1771 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Worcester British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761