Courthorpe Clayton
Encyclopedia
Courthorpe Clayton was an Anglo-Irish soldier, courtier and Member of Parliament.

Family

He was the son of Laurence Clayton of Mallow
Mallow, County Cork
Mallow is the "Crossroads of Munster" and the administrative capital of north County Cork, in Ireland. The Northern Divisional Offices of Cork County Council are located in the town....

 and his second wife Anne, daughter of Sir Peter Courthorpe of Little Island
Little Island, Cork
Little Island is mainly an industrial area to the east of Cork City, Ireland. It is no longer an island, since the northern channel separating it from the mainland has filled over. To the east and south is Cork Harbour; across a channel to the west is Fota Island.-Development:Many of Cork's...

. On 6 August 1745 he married Theodosia, daughter of Edward Buckworth; they had one daughter. Courthorpe lived at Annabella
Annabella, County Cork
Annabella is a residential area that lies on the fringes of Mallow, County Cork, Province of Munster, in Ireland. The Irish name Eanach-bile translates to the marsh of the bile or old tree.Regarding the eanach-bile derivation advanced by P.W...

 near Mallow in County Cork
County Cork
County Cork is a county in Ireland. It is located in the South-West Region and is also part of the province of Munster. It is named after the city of Cork . Cork County Council is the local authority for the county...

 and at Shepherd's Bush
Shepherd's Bush
-Commerce:Commercial activity in Shepherd's Bush is now focused on the Westfield shopping centre next to Shepherd's Bush Central line station and on the many small shops which run along the northern side of the Green....

 in Middlesex
Middlesex
Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

.

Soldier

Commissioned as an Ensign in the Coldstream Guards
Coldstream Guards
Her Majesty's Coldstream Regiment of Foot Guards, also known officially as the Coldstream Guards , is a regiment of the British Army, part of the Guards Division or Household Division....

 in 1725, he transferred to the Royal Horse Guards
Royal Horse Guards
The Royal Horse Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry.Founded August 1650 in Newcastle Upon Tyne by Sir Arthur Haselrig on the orders of Oliver Cromwell as the Regiment of Cuirassiers, the regiment became the Earl of Oxford's Regiment during the reign of...

 as a Cornet in 1727 and became a Lieutenant in the 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards
Horse Grenadier Guards
The Horse Grenadier Guards were a series of cavalry troops in the British Household Cavalry between 1687 and 1788, who used grenades and other explosives in battle. Originally attached to the Horse Guards, they became independent for a century before being disbanded...

 in 1731. In 1751 he was promoted to Major and in 1756 to Lieutenant-Colonel.

Courtier

In 1726 Courthorpe was appointed an equerry
Equerry
An equerry , and related to the French word "écuyer" ) is an officer of honour. Historically, it was a senior attendant with responsibilities for the horses of a person of rank. In contemporary use, it is a personal attendant, usually upon a Sovereign, a member of a Royal Family, or a national...

 to the Prince of Wales, and served in the same capacity through the whole of the Prince's reign as King George II
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...

 from 1727 to 1760. He was avener
Avener
An avener, or avenor, was the chief officer of the stables of a king, and the officer in charge of obtaining positions for horses belonging to the king. The Latin version of the word was avenarius, from the Latin avena, meaning "oats" or "straw"...

 and clerk marshal
Clerk Marshal
The Clerk Marshal was an official of the British Royal Household in the department of the Master of the Horse. From the Restoration the office was held with that of Avenor until the latter post was abolished in 1793. The office of Clerk Marshal was then combined with that of First or Chief Equerry...

 from 1732 to 1734 and 1757 to 1760. In January 1761 he was granted a pension of £500 a year.

Member of Parliament

He was elected to the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...

 for Mallow
Mallow (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Mallow was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800 and was incorporated by Charter of 1613, with a further charter of 1689. It was a manor borough, the franchise being vested in the freeholders of the manor and the returning officer its Seneschal...

 in 1727 and (through the influence of Lord Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis
Charles Cornwallis, 1st Earl Cornwallis PC , styled The Honourable Charles Cornwallis until 1722 and known as The Lord Cornwallis between 1722 and 1753, was a British peer.-Background:...

) to the British House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 for Eye
Eye (UK Parliament constituency)
Eye was a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected two Members of Parliament by the bloc vote system of election...

 on 5 May 1749, sitting until the dissolution of both Parliaments on the King's death
Demise of the Crown
In relation to the shared monarchy of the Commonwealth realms and other monarchies, the demise of the Crown is the legal term for the end of a reign by a king, queen, or emperor, whether by death or abdication....

 in 1760. He was described by Lord Dupplin
Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull
Thomas Hay, 9th Earl of Kinnoull PC was a Scottish peer and British politician.Hay was elected for Scarborough in 1736, but his election was overturned on petition. He sat as Member of Parliament for Cambridge from 1741 until 1758...

 as a supporter of the Government
First Newcastle Ministry
The First Newcastle Ministry was a British government that existed from 1754 until 1756, headed by the Duke of Newcastle. After the death of the previous Prime Minister, his brother Henry Pelham, Newcastle had formed a fresh administration...

in 1754 but is not known to have ever spoken or voted.
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK