Thomas Holmes, 1st Baron Holmes

Thomas Holmes, 1st Baron Holmes (2 November 1699 – 21 July 1764) was a British politician who was Vice-Admiral and Governor of the Isle of Wight (1763–4) and sat in the House of Commons between 1727 and 1774. He managed elections in the government interest in the Isle of Wight during the 1750s and 1760s.

The Right Honourable The Lord Holmes
Vice-Admiral and Governor of the Isle of Wight
In office 1763–1764
Monarch	George III
Preceded by	The Earl of Portsmouth
Succeeded by	Hans Stanley
Member of Parliament for Yarmouth
In office 1747–1764 Serving with Henry Holmes Jeremiah Dyson
Monarchs	George II George III
Preceded by	Maurice Bocland Robert Carteret
Succeeded by	Jeremiah Dyson John Eames
Member of Parliament for Newtown
In office 1734–1741 Serving with James Worsley
Monarch	George II
Preceded by	Charles Armand Powlett Sir John Barrington
Succeeded by	Henry Holmes Sir John Barrington
In office 1727–1729 Serving with James Worsley
Preceded by	William Stephens Charles Worsley
Succeeded by	Charles Armand Powlett Sir John Barrington
Personal details
Born	(1699-11-02)2 November 1699
Died	21 July 1764(1764-07-21) (aged 64)
Nationality	British
Political party	Tory
Spouse(s)	(1) Anne Player Apsley (2) Catherine Leigh
Parent(s)	Henry Holmes Mary Holmes
Relatives	Henry Holmes (brother) Charles Holmes (brother) Sir Robert Holmes (grandfather) Sir John Holmes (uncle) Leonard Holmes (nephew)

Early life

Holmes was baptized on 2 November 1699, the eldest son of Henry Holmes, MP, of Thorley, Yarmouth and his wife Mary, illegitimate daughter of Sir Robert Holmes, MP, of Thorley. He married Anne Apsley, widow of Colby Apsley, and daughter of Henry Player of Alverstone, Hampshire.

Career

At the 1727 British general election Holmes was returned as a Tory Member of Parliament for Newtown, where his family shared the electoral influence with the Worsleys. He voted against the Administration on the civil list on 23 April 1729 but was unseated on petition on 25 April 1729. He was returned unopposed for Newtown at the 1734 British general election. He voted against the Administration on the Spanish convention in 1739 and was absent from the division on the place bill in 1740. In 1738, on the death of his father, he succeeded to his estates and political interests on the Isle of Wight. He did not stand at the 1741 British general election but returned his brother General Henry Holmes for Newtown instead.

Holmes then made an agreement with Sir Robert Walpole to support the Government on condition he should become the Government's manager for Newtown, Newport and Yarmouth, the three Isle of Wight boroughs. After the fall of Walpole in 1742, he renewed the agreement with Pelham. It was accepted that he should have first use of the seats for himself and his family and at the 1747 general election, he was returned unopposed with his brother Henry, for Yarmouth. He did not have as much power as many borough-owners who could directly return MPs, but he exercised his influence in favour of government candidates. He was returned again as MP for Yarmouth in 1754 and 1761. He returned his brother Admiral Charles Holmes for Newport in 1758.

Holmes was sufficiently valuable to the ministries of Pelham and Newcastle that he was able to ask for and receive secret service payments for each seat he secured. He was also given a peerage as Baron Holmes, of Kilmallock in the County of Limerick, on 11 September 1760. He was appointed Governor of the Isle of Wight from 6 April 1763.

Family

Holmes first wife, Anne Player Apsley, died in 1743, and he married as his second wife Catherine Leigh, daughter of John Leigh of Shorwell, Isle.of Wight. He died in 1764 and was buried on 21 July. His only son by his first marriage predeceased him and the peerage became extinct on his death, but was revived in 1797 in favour of his nephew Leonard Holmes.

Genealogy

• Henry Holmes of Mallow, Cork, Ireland
  • Colonel Thomas Holmes of Kilmallock, Limerick, Ireland
    • Henry Holmes (c. 1660–1738) m. Mary Holmes (daughter of Admiral Sir Robert Holmes)
      • Thomas Holmes, 1st Baron Holmes (1699–1764)
      • Lieutenant General Henry Holmes (1703–62)
      • Rear Admiral Charles Holmes (1711–1761)
      • Elizabeth Holmes m. Thomas Troughear
        • Leonard (Troughear) Holmes, 1st Baron Holmes (c. 1732–1804) m. Elizabeth Tyrrell (d.1810)
          • The Hon. Elizabeth Holmes m. Edward Rushout
            • Descendants
  • Admiral Sir Robert Holmes (c. 1622–1692), English Admiral
    • Mary Holmes (wife of Henry Holmes)
  • Admiral Sir John Holmes (1640?–1683), English Admiral leader