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Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield PC FRS (1666–1732) was an English Whig politician.
He was born in Staffordshire, the son of Thomas Parker, an attorney at Leek. He was educated at Adams' Grammar School and Trinity College, Cambridge. He was married to Elizabeth Carrier, whose sister was married to George Anson, 1st Baron Anson. He was called to the bar in 1691, and became a Member of Parliament and was knighted in 1705. In 1710 he refused the office of Lord Chancellor, but was made a Privy Councillor. He was Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and was involved in the prosecution of Dr Sacheverell. He made a vehement attack on Sacheverell and the high church clergy.[1] He was also a friend of Bernard de Mandeville, whose satirical Fable of the Bees became highly controversial in the 1720s.
He became a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1713. He also had a grammar school built at Leek, his home town. In 1714 he was raised to the peerage as Baron Parker of Macclesfield. In 1716 he became Lord Chancellor and given a pension for life, and was a favourite of the King. In 1718 he was advanced to the title Earl of Macclesfield with the additional subsidiary title of Viscount Parker. In 1721 he was implicated in financial irregularities, however he did not resign as Lord Chancellor until 1724.
In 1725 he was impeached and tried in the House of Lords.[2] He was unanimously found guilty of corruption for taking more than one hundred thousand pounds in bribes (more than eleven million in today's currency). He was fined £30,000 and placed in the Tower of London until payment was received. He was also struck off the roll of the Privy Council. He was a fabulously wealthy man possibly due to his corruption, but as this money was confiscated he had no resources with which to pay his fine. He spent most of the rest of his life at Shirburn Castle, where he was buried.
| Parliament of England | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Harpur Thomas Stanhope |
Member of Parliament for Derby Lord James Cavendish 1705–1707 |
Succeeded by Parliament of Great Britain |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by Parliament of England |
Member of Parliament for Derby Lord James Cavendish 1707–1710 |
Succeeded by Lord James Cavendish Richard Pye |
| Legal Offices | ||
| Preceded by Sir John Holt |
Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench 1710–1718 |
Succeeded by Sir John Pratt |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by The Lord Cowper |
Lord Chancellor 1718–1725 |
Succeeded by In Commission |
| Honorary Titles | ||
| Preceded by The Earl of Northampton |
Custos Rotulorum of Warwickshire 1719–1728 |
Succeeded by The Duke of Montagu |
| Peerage of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by New Creation |
Earl of Macclesfield 1718–1732 |
Succeeded by George Parker |
| Baron Parker 1714–1732 |
||
- Manuscript reference
- 'everything' on-line reference
- document relating to his impeachment.
- How Much Is That Worth Today?
Categories: Lord Chancellors of Great Britain | Lords Chief Justice of England and Wales | Fellows of the Royal Society | Political corruption | Members of the Parliament of Great Britain | Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament | Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom | Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge | Earls in the Peerage of Great Britain | People from Leek, Staffordshire | 1666 births | 1732 deaths