Sir William Strickland, 3rd Baronet
Encyclopedia
Sir William Strickland, 3rd Baronet of Boynton
, Yorkshire
(March 1665 – 12 May 1724) was an English landowner and racehorse owner who also served for many years as a Member of Parliament
(MP).
Strickland was the son of Sir Thomas Strickland, 2nd Baronet
and his wife Elizabeth Pile. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford
, and succeeded to the baronetcy at the age of nineteen on his father's death in November 1684. On 28 August 1684, he married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William Palmes of Lindley.
In 1689, he entered Parliament as member for Malton
, a Yorkshire pocket borough controlled at that period by his father-in-law, who occupied its other seat himself. He represented that borough for three spells as well as periods as member for Yorkshire
and Old Sarum
. (When he stood down as MP for Malton in 1708, his place was taken by his son, William
.) Strickland sat as a Whig
, and in the factional battles within that party at the turn of the century was a follower of Lord Wharton
and a supporter of the Junto
.
Strickland was an enthusiastic owner and breeder of racehorses, and one of his horses, the Acaster Turk, was Champion Sire in 1721. Strickland was a central character in one of early racing's greatest causes celebres, The Merlin Match. Many of the exact details, even the date and the correct names of the horses involved are unknown; almost all that is certain is that the match took place. This was a head-to-head match at Newmarket between Strickland's horse, called Merlin (or possibly Old Merlin or Ancaster Merlin or Little Merlin) and a horse belonging to the Royal trainer Tregonwell Frampton
; it was seen as being a symbolic race between the champions of North and South, or of the Provinces and the racing establishment, and attracted widespread interest and heavy betting.
According to the accepted legend, shortly before the race was due to take place Strickland's groom, one Hesseltine, was approached by Frampton's groom, who proposed a secret trial of the horses over the full distance, to give them both inside information and ensure they could bet wisely. Hesseltine agreed and the trial was run, Merlin winning narrowly; but Frampton and Strickland each had instructed their groom to double-cross the other by secretly adding extra weight to their own horse, and both therefore believed they would win the race easily! In the event Merlin won the race much as he had won the trial, as recorded in a popular ballad of the time:
Huge sums were won and lost, with many of those who had bet on Frampton's horse ruined. As a result the law was soon afterwards changed to make it legally impossible to recover more than £10 of a gambling debt.
Strickland was also appointed Commissary-General of the Musters, in 1720. He died in May 1724 from a fall at a fox hunt. His son William
, who succeeded him in the baronetcy, was the only one of his children who survived to adulthood.
Boynton, East Riding of Yorkshire
Boynton is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately west of the town of Bridlington and lies on the B1253 road.According to the 2001 UK census, Boynton parish had a population of 161....
, Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
(March 1665 – 12 May 1724) was an English landowner and racehorse owner who also served for many years as a 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,...
(MP).
Strickland was the son of Sir Thomas Strickland, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Strickland, 2nd Baronet
Sir Thomas Strickland, 2nd Baronet was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1659.Strickland was son of Sir William Strickland, 1st Baronet of Boynton, East Riding of Yorkshire, and his second wife Frances Finch, daughter of Thomas Finch, 2nd Earl of Winchilsea...
and his wife Elizabeth Pile. He was educated at Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College, Oxford
Exeter College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England and the fourth oldest college of the University. The main entrance is on the east side of Turl Street...
, and succeeded to the baronetcy at the age of nineteen on his father's death in November 1684. On 28 August 1684, he married Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of William Palmes of Lindley.
In 1689, he entered Parliament as member for Malton
Malton (UK Parliament constituency)
Malton, also called New Malton, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England in 1295 and 1298, and again from 1640, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885...
, a Yorkshire pocket borough controlled at that period by his father-in-law, who occupied its other seat himself. He represented that borough for three spells as well as periods as member for Yorkshire
Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)
Yorkshire was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1290, then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1832...
and Old Sarum
Old Sarum (UK Parliament constituency)
Old Sarum was the most infamous of the so-called 'rotten boroughs', a parliamentary constituency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland which was effectively controlled by a single person, until it was abolished under the Reform Act 1832. The constituency was the site of what had been...
. (When he stood down as MP for Malton in 1708, his place was taken by his son, William
Sir William Strickland, 4th Baronet
Sir William Strickland was an English Member of Parliament and Government Minister in Sir Robert Walpole's administration....
.) Strickland sat as a Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
, and in the factional battles within that party at the turn of the century was a follower of Lord Wharton
Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton
Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton PC was an English nobleman and politician. He was the son of Philip Wharton, 4th Baron Wharton and his second wife, Jane Goodwin, only daughter of Colonel Arthur Goodwin of Upper Winchendon, Buckinghamshire, and heiress to the extensive Goodwin estates in...
and a supporter of the Junto
Whig Junto
The Whig Junto is the name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig party and often the government, during the reigns of William III and Anne. The Whig Junto proper consisted of John Somers, later Baron Somers; Charles Montagu, later Earl of Halifax;...
.
Strickland was an enthusiastic owner and breeder of racehorses, and one of his horses, the Acaster Turk, was Champion Sire in 1721. Strickland was a central character in one of early racing's greatest causes celebres, The Merlin Match. Many of the exact details, even the date and the correct names of the horses involved are unknown; almost all that is certain is that the match took place. This was a head-to-head match at Newmarket between Strickland's horse, called Merlin (or possibly Old Merlin or Ancaster Merlin or Little Merlin) and a horse belonging to the Royal trainer Tregonwell Frampton
Tregonwell Frampton
Tregonwell Frampton was an English racehorse trainer, known as ‘the father of the turf.’-Life:Frampton was born in 1641 at Moreton, Dorset, the fifth son of William Frampton, lord of the manor of Moreton, by his wife, Katharine Tregonwell of Milton Abbas. He is described by William Chafin as being...
; it was seen as being a symbolic race between the champions of North and South, or of the Provinces and the racing establishment, and attracted widespread interest and heavy betting.
According to the accepted legend, shortly before the race was due to take place Strickland's groom, one Hesseltine, was approached by Frampton's groom, who proposed a secret trial of the horses over the full distance, to give them both inside information and ensure they could bet wisely. Hesseltine agreed and the trial was run, Merlin winning narrowly; but Frampton and Strickland each had instructed their groom to double-cross the other by secretly adding extra weight to their own horse, and both therefore believed they would win the race easily! In the event Merlin won the race much as he had won the trial, as recorded in a popular ballad of the time:
And now, Little Merlin has won the day,And all for his master's gainGuarded him to stableagain, againGuarded him to stable again,And as they rode through Newmarket,Many curses on them did fall,A curse light on these Yorkshire knights,And their horses and ridersand all, and all,and their horses and riders and all.
Huge sums were won and lost, with many of those who had bet on Frampton's horse ruined. As a result the law was soon afterwards changed to make it legally impossible to recover more than £10 of a gambling debt.
Strickland was also appointed Commissary-General of the Musters, in 1720. He died in May 1724 from a fall at a fox hunt. His son William
Sir William Strickland, 4th Baronet
Sir William Strickland was an English Member of Parliament and Government Minister in Sir Robert Walpole's administration....
, who succeeded him in the baronetcy, was the only one of his children who survived to adulthood.