Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet
|
The Right Honourable Sir Edward Seymour Bt |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Speaker of the House of Commons | |
|
In office 1673–1679 |
|
| Preceded by | Job Charlton |
| Succeeded by | William Gregory |
| Treasurer of the Navy | |
|
In office 1673–1681 |
|
| Preceded by | Sir Thomas Osborne |
| Succeeded by | The Viscount Falkland |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1632 |
| Died | 17 February 1708 |
| Spouse(s) | Margaret Wale Laetitia Popham |
Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 4th Baronet, MP (1632/1633 – 17 February 1708) was a British nobleman, and a Royalist and Tory politician.
Born at Berry Pomeroy Castle of a family greatly influential in the Western counties, he was a son of Sir Edward Seymour, 3rd Baronet, and his wife Anne Portman, and a descendant of Edward Seymour, 1st Duke of Somerset, in the senior line. (Because of the alleged adultery of the Duke's first wife, the Dukedom had been entailed with preference to his sons by his second marriage.) A skilled debater and politician, he was twice Speaker of the House of Commons during the Cavalier Parliament, the first non-lawyer to be chosen for that position for a considerable time.
He was one of the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty from 1673 until 1679, when he was made a Privy Counsellor. He also held office as Treasurer of the Navy from 1673 until 1681, Lord Commissioner of the Treasury from 15 November 1690 to 2 May 1696 and Comptroller of the Household from 1702 to 1704. He was also responsible for the Habeas Corpus Act 1679.
Though able, Seymour's character was marred by his haughty pride in his ancestry (much like his cousin, the 6th Duke of Somerset) and by venality. However, his influence was much courted, and he led a powerful faction of Western members in Parliament. An opponent of the Exclusion Bill and a quintessential country gentleman, his Tory credentials were impeccable. Samuel Pepys in his Diary records the unpleasant impression Seymour's arrogance made on most people who met him; nearly 40 years later the Duke of Marlborough wrote that while one should not wish for any person's death, he was sure Seymour's death would be no great loss.
...
Wikipedia