George Berkeley, 1st Earl of Berkeley
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George Berkeley, 1st Earl of Berkeley PC
FRS (1628 – 10 October 1698) was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons
from 1654 until 1658 when he succeeded to the peerage.
, who died 1658. He was a canon-commoner at Christ Church, Oxford
, but did not take any degree. In 1654 he was elected Member of Parliament
for Gloucestershire
in the First Protectorate Parliament
. He was re-elected MP for Gloucestershire in 1656 for the Second Protectorate Parliament
. Berkeley succeeded to the barony in 1658, and was nominated in May 1660 as one of the commissioners to proceed to the Hague
and invite Charles II to return to the kingdom. In the following November he was made keeper of the house gardens and parks of Nonsuch Palace
, where the Duchess of Cleveland later lived.
In 1661 Berkeley was placed on the council for foreign plantations. In 1663 he became a member of the Royal African Company
on its formation (10 January), acquiring a share in the territory lying between the port of Salee in South Barbary and the Cape of Good Hope
. In the same year he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. He was made a privy councillor in 1677. In April 1678, he was made a member of the board of trade and plantations
which had been established in 1668.
On 11 September 1679 he was created Viscount Dursley and Earl of Berkeley. He was elected to the governorship of the Levant Company
on 9 February 1680 and held the position for most, if not the whole, of his subsequent life. In May 1681 he was elected one of the masters of Trinity House
. At this time he was a member of the East India Company
. In February 1685 he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire
, and 21 July 1685 was sworn of the privy council. After the flight of James II, 11 December 1688, Berkeley was among the lords who assembled at Guildhall and declared themselves a provisional government.
Berkeley died in 1698, and was buried in the parish church of Cranford, Middlesex, where he had an estate.
Privy Council of England
The Privy Council of England, also known as His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, was a body of advisers to the sovereign of the Kingdom of England...
FRS (1628 – 10 October 1698) was an English merchant and politician who sat in the House of Commons
House of Commons of England
The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of Great Britain...
from 1654 until 1658 when he succeeded to the peerage.
Life
Berkeley was the son of George Harding, 8th Baron BerkeleyGeorge Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley
George Harding, 8th Baron Berkeley was a seventeenth-century English nobleman and a prominent patron of literature in his generation....
, who died 1658. He was a canon-commoner at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
, but did not take any degree. In 1654 he was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Gloucestershire
Gloucestershire (UK Parliament constituency)
The constituency of Gloucestershire was a UK Parliamentary constituency. After it was abolished under the 1832 Electoral Reform Act, two new constituencies, West Gloucestershire and East Gloucestershire, were created....
in the First Protectorate Parliament
First Protectorate Parliament
The First Protectorate Parliament was summoned by the Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell under the terms of the Instrument of Government. It sat for one term from 3 September 1654 until 22 January 1655 with William Lenthall as the Speaker of the House....
. He was re-elected MP for Gloucestershire in 1656 for the Second Protectorate Parliament
Second Protectorate Parliament
The Second Protectorate Parliament in England sat for two sessions from 17 September 1656 until 4 February 1658, with Thomas Widdrington as the Speaker of the House of Commons...
. Berkeley succeeded to the barony in 1658, and was nominated in May 1660 as one of the commissioners to proceed to the Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
and invite Charles II to return to the kingdom. In the following November he was made keeper of the house gardens and parks of Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace
Nonsuch Palace was a Tudor royal palace, built by Henry VIII in Surrey, England; it stood from 1538 to 1682–3. Its ruins are in Nonsuch Park.- Background :Nonsuch Palace in Surrey was perhaps the grandest of Henry VIII's building projects...
, where the Duchess of Cleveland later lived.
In 1661 Berkeley was placed on the council for foreign plantations. In 1663 he became a member of the Royal African Company
Royal African Company
The Royal African Company was a slaving company set up by the Stuart family and London merchants once the former retook the English throne in the English Restoration of 1660...
on its formation (10 January), acquiring a share in the territory lying between the port of Salee in South Barbary and the Cape of Good Hope
Cape of Good Hope
The Cape of Good Hope is a rocky headland on the Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula, South Africa.There is a misconception that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Africa, because it was once believed to be the dividing point between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. In fact, the...
. In the same year he was elected Fellow of the Royal Society. He was made a privy councillor in 1677. In April 1678, he was made a member of the board of trade and plantations
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
which had been established in 1668.
On 11 September 1679 he was created Viscount Dursley and Earl of Berkeley. He was elected to the governorship of the Levant Company
Levant Company
The Levant Company, or Turkey Company, was an English chartered company formed in 1581, to regulate English trade with Turkey and the Levant...
on 9 February 1680 and held the position for most, if not the whole, of his subsequent life. In May 1681 he was elected one of the masters of Trinity House
Trinity House
The Corporation of Trinity House of Deptford Strond is the official General Lighthouse Authority for England, Wales and other British territorial waters...
. At this time he was a member of the East India Company
East India Company
The East India Company was an early English joint-stock company that was formed initially for pursuing trade with the East Indies, but that ended up trading mainly with the Indian subcontinent and China...
. In February 1685 he was appointed Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire
Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire
This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Gloucestershire.*Sir Edmund Tame bef. 1544–1544*Sir Anthony Kingston 1544?–1556*Sir Nicholas Arnold bef. 1558–1580*Sir Thomas Throckmorton bef. 1584 – aft. 1596...
, and 21 July 1685 was sworn of the privy council. After the flight of James II, 11 December 1688, Berkeley was among the lords who assembled at Guildhall and declared themselves a provisional government.
Berkeley died in 1698, and was buried in the parish church of Cranford, Middlesex, where he had an estate.
Works
He published in 1668 a religious work entitled Historical Applications and Occasional Meditations upon several Subjects.Family
Berkeley married on 11 August 1646, Elizabeth Massingberd, daughter of John Massingberd, treasurer of the East India Company, by whom he had two sons, Charles and George, and six daughters:- Charles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of BerkeleyCharles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of BerkeleyCharles Berkeley, 2nd Earl of Berkeley PC KB FRS , was a British nobleman and diplomat, known as Sir Charles Berkeley from 1661 to 1679 and styled Viscount Dursley from 1679 to 1698....
- Rev. Hon. George Berkeley (d. 1694), graduated M.A. at Christ Church, 9 July 1669, took holy orders, and became a prebendary of Westminster, 13 July 1687, married Jane Cole and had issue
- Lady Elizabeth Berkeley(ca.1650-d.1681), married William Smythe Esq.,(ca.1645-d.1720) and had issue,Theoplia Smythe married 4 Nov. 1696 in Westminster AbbeyWestminster AbbeyThe Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
Hen VII Chapel to Arthur Moore M.P.Arthur Moore M.P.Arthur Moore M.P. for Great Grimsby who represented the borough, for many years and during the reigns of several kings and queens. He was born in Ireland, but moved to England early. His brother was Colonel Sir Thomas Moore Arthur Moore's son was William Moore, M.P. for Banbury...
and their sons James Moore SmytheJames Moore SmytheJames Moore Smythe was an English playwright, fop,and wastrel. He was appointed by the King to the Office of, Co-Paymaster of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. He was born James Moore.He was the son of Arthur Moore M.P. , for Great Grimsby, and his 2nd wife Theophila Smythe, dau...
& William MooreWilliam MooreWilliam Moore, often known as Billy Moore , was an Ulster loyalist from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He was a member of the Shankill Butchers, an Ulster Volunteer Force gang...
M.P. for BanburyBanburyBanbury is a market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in the Cherwell District of Oxfordshire. It is northwest of London, southeast of Birmingham, south of Coventry and north northwest of the county town of Oxford...
& Arthur Moore Smythe. and their Dau. Elizabeth (Moore) Ormond,married 1718 Wyriott Ormond Sr.of LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
No: 11 Meard St. London & Bath N.C. Colonial Official and had issue including Roger Ormond or Ormand. - Lady Theophila Berkeley (b. 1703), married Sir Kingsmill Lucy, 2nd Baronet and had issue, Sir Berkeley Lucy 3rd Bt.. then married Robert NelsonRobert Nelson (nonjuror)Robert Nelson was an English lay religious writer and nonjuror.-Life:He was born in London on 22 June 1656, the only surviving son of John Nelson, a merchant in the Turkey trade, by Delicia, daughter of Lewis and sister of Sir Gabriel Roberts, who, like John Nelson, was a member of the Levant...
- Lady Arabella Berkeley, mar. Sir William Pulteney, son and heir of Sir William Pulteney, Bt., of Misterton, and had issue
- Lady Mary Berkeley (d. 19 May 1719), married first Ford Grey, 1st Earl of TankervilleFord Grey, 1st Earl of TankervilleFord Grey, 1st Earl of Tankerville , 1st Viscount Glendale, and 3rd Baron Grey of Warke, was a British nobleman and statesman. He was the son of Ralph Grey, 2nd Baron Grey of Werke and Catherine Ford, daughter of Sir Edward Ford of Harting in West Sussex. He was baptized the day of his birth at...
and had issue, and second, aft. 22 May 1712, Richard Rooth - Lady Henrietta Berkeley (b. c. 1665), unmarried, famously seduced by her sister's husband, the Earl of Tankerville, in 1682
- Lady Arethusa Berkeley (d. 11 Feb 1742/3), married Charles Boyle, 3rd Viscount DungarvanCharles Boyle, 3rd Viscount DungarvanCharles Boyle, 3rd Viscount Dungarvan, 3rd Baron Clifford, FRS , was a British peer and politician...
, and had issue