Sir Robert Throckmorton, 8th Baronet

Sir Robert Throckmorton, 8th Bt
Portrait by Thomas Phillips, c. 1830, at Coughton Court
High Sheriff of Berkshire
In office
1843–1843
Preceded byHenry Mill Bunbury
Succeeded byEdwin Martin Atkins
Member of Parliament for Berkshire
In office
1831–1835
Preceded byCharles Dundas
Robert Palmer
Succeeded byRobert Palmer
John Walter
Philip Pusey
Personal details
Born
Robert George Throckmorton

(1800-12-05)5 December 1800
Mayfair, London
Died28 June 1862(1862-06-28) (aged 61)
Park Lane, London
Political partyWhig, Liberal
Spouse
Elizabeth Acton
(after 1829)
Parent(s)William Throckmorton
Frances Gifford

Sir Robert George Throckmorton, 8th Baronet (5 December 1800 – 28 June 1862) was an English Whig and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1831 to 1835.

Early life

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Throckmorton was born on 5 December 1800 at Queen Street, Mayfair, London. Throckmorton was the eldest son of William Throckmorton and his wife Frances Gifford, daughter of Thomas Gifford, 22nd of Chillington. The Throckmortons were a prominent Roman Catholic family, who continued to hear mass at the family home Coughton Court, Alcester, Warwickshire. In 1826 the family estate at Molland in Devon devolved to Throckmorton when his uncle succeeded to the baronetcy.[1]

Career

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The Roman Catholic Relief Act 1829 allowed Catholics to hold national office for the first time in almost three hundred years.[2] Throckmorton took advantage of the change in the law to become one of the first Catholic MPs after Daniel O'Connell achieved the feat in 1828 and eventually had Catholic Emancipation signed into law.[2] At the 1831 general election he was elected MP for Berkshire,[3] the location of his third country estate, Buckland Park (though it is now in Oxfordshire). He held the seat until 1835.[4]

He also became a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Berkshire. He was High Sheriff of Berkshire in 1843.[1]

Throckmorton inherited the baronetcy in 1840 on the death of his uncle Sir Charles Throckmorton, 7th Baronet.[3] He built a new Catholic church at the end of the south drive of Coughton Court, next to the ruins of the church built by an earlier Throckmorton in the 15th century which was confiscated from the family during the Reformation.[2]

Personal life

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Lady Throckmorton with Two of Her Children, by John Partridge, c. 1833

On 16 July 1829, Throckmorton was married to Elizabeth Acton, daughter of Sir John Acton, 6th Baronet of Aldenham and Mary Anne Acton. Together, they were the parents of five sons and four daughters, including:[3]

Throckmorton died on 28 June 1862, at the age of 61, at Hereford Street in Park Lane, London.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b Burke, John (1836). A Genealogical and Heraldic History of the Commoners of Great Britain and Ireland Enjoying Territorial Possessions Or High Official Rank: But Uninvested with Heritable Honours. Colburn. p. 162. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  2. ^ a b c "Coughton Court, Warwickshire". www.britannia.com. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Fisher, David R. "THROCKMORTON, Robert George (1800-1862), of Buckland House, nr. Faringdon, Berks". www.historyofparliamentonline.org. History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment Commons constituencies[usurped]
  5. ^ a b c d e Townend, Peter. Burke's Peerage and Baronetage, 105th edition. London, U.K.: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1970, page 2643.
  6. ^ Montgomery-Massingberd, Hugh. Burke's Irish Family Records. London, U.K.: Burke's Peerage Ltd, 1976, page 132.
  7. ^ George Edward Cokayne, editor, The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes (no date (c. 1900); reprint, Gloucester, U.K.: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), volume II, page 199.
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Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Robert Throckmorton

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Berkshire
18311835
With: Charles Dundas 1831–1832
Robert Palmer 1832–1835
John Walter 1832–1835
Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by
Henry Mill Bunbury
High Sheriff of Berkshire
1843
Succeeded by
Edwin Martin Atkins
Baronetage of England
Preceded by Baronet
(of Coughton)
1840–1862
Succeeded by