GORING, Henry (1679-1731), of Highden, Washington, Suss.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715, ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

4 Apr. 1707 - 1708
1 Feb. 1709 - 1715
26 Jan. - 16 June 1715

Family and Education

bap. 16 Sept. 1679, 4th s. of Henry Goring† of Wappingthorn, Steyning, Suss. by his 2nd w. Mary, da. and coh. of Sir John Covert, 1st Bt.†, of Slaugham, Suss.  m. bef. 25 Feb. 1714, Elizabeth, da. and coh. of Sir George Mathews*, 9s. 2da.  suc. half-bro. Sir Charles Goring† as 4th Bt. 13 Jan. 1714.

Offices Held

Burgess, Horsham 1703.1

Capt. of ft. Edmund Soame’s* regt. 1705–7, Samuel Masham’s* regt. 1707–11; col. of marines (31 Ft.) 1711–13, June–Sept. 1715; half-pay 1713–15.

Biography

Goring, a professional soldier, entered Parliament in 1707 at a by-election for Horsham, where he owned property, and was listed as a Tory in two lists of 1708. He was defeated at Horsham in 1708 but came in at a by-election the following year at Steyning, a borough his family had often represented, and where he was now involved in a double return with Lord Bellew (Richard*). Once seated Goring became a Court supporter, voting for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. His conduct during this Parliament was probably influenced less by political conviction than by concern for promotion in the army, although he had to wait until a change of ministry for a new commission. In the ‘Hanover list’ of the 1710 Parliament he was classed as a Whig, but he followed his usual policy of supporting whichever government was in power, and gave such satisfaction that he finally obtained his colonelcy in March 1711, when a new board was established under the Duke of Ormond to take army promotions out of the hands of the Duke of Marlborough (John Churchill†). In Parliament Goring was inactive, although he did on one occasion act as a teller, on 8 May 1712 in the Steyning election dispute, in favour of the local candidate, William Wallis*, a Whig, against the outsider Bellew. He voted on 18 June 1713 for the French commerce bill and although reduced to half-pay on the disbandment of his regiment, he continued to support the ministry, being classed as a Tory in the Worsley list and two other lists of the 1713 and 1715 Parliaments. When the regiment was reconstituted in 1715 he was again placed at its head, but was forced to sell the colonelcy on the outbreak of the Fifteen, a hardship which confirmed what had now become pronounced Jacobite sympathies. After taking part in subsequent Jacobite intrigues, Goring died in exile on 12 Nov. 1731.2

Ref Volumes: 1690-1715

Author: Paula Watson

Notes

  • 1. W. Albery, Parl. Hist. Horsham, 47.
  • 2. Cal. Treas. Bks. xxvii. 277; Add. 61652, ff. 307–8.