Thomas Thoroton-Hildyard

Thomas Blackborne Thoroton-Hildyard JP DL (8 April 1821 – 19 March 1888) was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1846 and 1885.

Thomas Thoroton-Hildyard
Photograph of Thoroton-Hildyard, 1861
Member of Parliament for South Nottinghamshire
In office
1866–1885
Preceded byLord Stanhope
William Hodgson Barrow
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
In office
1846–1852
Preceded byThe Earl of Lincoln
Lancelot Rolleston
Succeeded byViscount Newark
William Hodgson Barrow
Personal details
Born
Thomas Blackborne Thoroton-Hildyard

(1821-04-08)8 April 1821
Flintham Hall, Nottinghamshire
Died19 March 1888(1888-03-19) (aged 66)
Political partyConservative
SpouseAnne Margaret Rochfort
RelationsHenry Hildyard (brother)
Parent(s)Thomas Blackborne Thoroton-Hildyard
Anne Catherine Whyte
EducationEton College
Alma materChrist Church, Oxford

Early life

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Thoroton-Hildyard was born at the family seat, Flintham Hall, Nottinghamshire, on 8 April 1821. He was the eldest son of Col. Thomas Blackborne Thoroton-Hildyard (1788–1830), and Anne Catherine Whyte.[1] His mother was the niece and heiress of Sir Robert D'Arcy Hildyard, 4th Baronet, and in connection with inheriting of the Hildyard family's estates based around Winestead Hall in the East Riding of Yorkshire, his father had assumed the surname Hildyard in addition to Thoroton in 1815.[2]

Among his siblings were Robert D'Arcy Hildyard of Colburn Hall (who married Anna Jane Burne); the Rev. Henry Hildyard, rector of Rowley and Winestead, who married Julia Wharton; John George Bowes Hildyard of Dunnington Hall (who married Caroline Denison); Anne Catharine Hildyard; Mary Anne Hildyard (who married Rev. James Chichester); Elizabeth Frances Hildyard (who married Sir John Thorold, 11th Baronet); and Esther Sophia Hildyard (who married Charles Goad).[2]

Thoroton-Hildyard was educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford.[1]

Career

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He was a Justice of the Peace and Deputy Lieutenant for Nottinghamshire and a major in the South Nottinghamshire Yeomanry Cavalry.[3]

In 1846 Thoroton-Hildyard was elected Member of Parliament for Nottinghamshire South. It was a toughly contested election. Hildyard was supported, according to the University of Nottingham, by the 4th Duke of Newcastle under Lyne "in spite of the fact that Newcastle’s son, the Earl of Lincoln, was his opponent. Lincoln attacked Hildyard’s youth and inexperience, but the 'young squire' still defeated him by a majority of almost 700."[4] Thoroton-Hildyard held South Nottinghamshire from 1846 until 1852.[5] In 1863 he was High Sheriff of Nottinghamshire.[1] He was re-elected MP for South Nottinghamshire in 1866 and continued to represent the constituency until his retirement in 1885.[5]

Estates

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Upon his father's death in 1830, he inherited the family's estates at Flintham, Screveton and Winestead were administered by his mother and two of his paternal uncles during his minority. They were able to secure Flintham Hall against his father's creditors by selling his Lincolnshire estates.[1]

Thoroton-Hildyard was responsible for the Italianate extension of Flintham Hall by the Nottingham architect Thomas Chambers Hine between 1853 and 1857. His extravagant spending forced him to let Flintham Hall out to tenants and live abroad for a time. In 1884, he sold the remaining Hildyard estates at Winestead in Yorkshire to the Hull Corporation.[1]

Personal life

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Thoroton-Hildyard married Anne Margaret Rochfort, daughter of Mary Burgh (a daughter of Thomas Burgh, MP) and Col. John Staunton Rochfort of Clogrennane, County Carlow.[6] Together, they were the parents of:

Thoroton-Hildyard died at the age of 66.[3]

Descendants

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Through his son Henry, he was the grandfather of General Sir Reginald Hildyard (1876–1965), who inherited the Flintham estate upon the death of his childless uncle Thomas in 1928.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f "Biography of Thomas Blackborne Thoroton Hildyard (1821-1888)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Biography of Colonel Thomas Blackborne Hildyard (1788-1830)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  3. ^ a b Debretts House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1881
  4. ^ Thomas Blackborne Thoroton-Hildyard (1821-1888; M.P.), The University of Nottingham, nottingham.ac.uk
  5. ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "N" (part 3)
  6. ^ "Family of Rochfort". Irish Builder and Engineer. Howard MacGarvey & Sons.: 289 1887. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  7. ^ "Biography of Thomas Blackborne Thoroton Hildyard (1843-1928)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  8. ^ "Thomas Blackborne Thoroton Hildyard (1843-1928), Magistrate; son of Thomas Blackborne Thoroton-Hildyard". www.npg.org.uk. National Portrait Gallery, London. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  9. ^ Ruvigny and Raineval, The Marquis of (2001). The Plantagenet Roll of the Blood Royal: The Mortimer-Percy. Heritage Books. p. 309. ISBN 978-0-7884-1872-3. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  10. ^ "Biography of Gerald Moresby Thoroton Hildyard (1874-1956)". www.nottingham.ac.uk. The University of Nottingham. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
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Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for South Nottinghamshire
18461852
With: Lancelot Rolleston to 1849
Robert Bromley 1849–1851
William Hodgson Barrow from 1851
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for South Nottinghamshire
18661885
With: William Hodgson Barrow to 1874
George Storer from 1874
Constituency abolished