Family and Education

b. c.1678, 1st s. of Sir Nicholas Pelham*.  educ. St. Edmund Hall, Oxf. matric. 3 July 1693, aged 15; G. Inn 1696.  m. (settlement 22 Sept. 1704), his cos. Elizabeth, da. of Henry Pelham*, 8s. (1 d.v.p.) 4da.  suc. fa. 1739.1

Offices Held

Commr. stating army debts 1715–17; ld. of Trade 1717–41.2

Biography

Pelham took over the family seat at Lewes in 1705, which had been held since 1695 by either his father or his uncle, Henry Pelham. A Whig, he was classed as ‘Low Church’ in an analysis of the new Parliament, voted for the Court candidate for Speaker on 25 Oct. 1705 and supported the government on the ‘place clause’ of the regency bill on 18 Feb. 1706. He served twice as teller on the Whig side in March 1708: on the 9th against the committee receiving a clause to the cathedrals bill which would admit appeals from bishops’ visitations; and on the 18th for a motion designed to protect the Bank of England from competition. Returned for Lewes again in 1708, he was listed as a Whig and on 25 Jan. 1709 was teller against bringing in a place bill. He supported the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He was granted leave of absence for health reasons on 11 Mar. 1710. Successful for Lewes in 1710, he was classed as a Whig in the ‘Hanover list’ of this Parliament, and was teller on 23 Jan. 1711 in favour of the Whig candidate in the disputed election for Rutland. On 14 Mar. he was granted leave of absence for one month. He voted for the ‘No Peace without Spain’ motion on 7 Dec. 1711 and was granted leave from the House for 14 days on 17 May 1712. He was listed as a Whig who voted against the French commmerce bill on 18 June 1713. In the last Parliament of Queen Anne’s reign he voted against the motion preparatory to the expulsion of Richard Steele on 18 Mar. 1714 and was classed as a Whig in the Worsley list and two other lists of this Parliament drawn up in 1715. After the accession of George I he continued to represent Lewes for a further 26 years, consistently voting with the Whigs. Pelham was buried at Lewes on 10 Dec. 1759. His eldest son, Thomas, represented Hastings and then Lewes, 1728–43.3

Ref Volumes: 1690-1715

Author: Paula Watson

Notes

• 1. J. Comber, Suss. Geneal. Lewes, 211.
• 2. Cal. Treas. Bks. xxix. 869; xxxi. 737–857.
• 3. Add. 5698, f. 89.