View source for Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet

{{Short description|English lawyer and politician (1647–1709)}}
{{Other people|Thomas Littleton}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
'''Sir Thomas Littleton, 3rd Baronet''', often '''Thomas de Littleton''', (3 April 1647 – 31 December 1709), of [[North Ockendon]], Essex and [[Stoke St. Milborough]], Shropshire, was an [[Kingdom of England|English]] lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the [[English House of Commons|English]] and [[House of Commons of Great Britain|British House of Commons]] between 1689 and 1709. He served as [[List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England|Speaker]] of the [[House of Commons of England]] from 1698 to 1700, and as [[Treasurer of the Navy]] until his death.
 
==Biography==
Littleton was the son of [[Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Baronet]] (died 1681), and his wife and cousin Anne Littleton.<ref name=Cokayne2b>{{Citation| editor-last=Cokayne| editor-first=George Edward |year=1902 | title= Complete Baronetage volume 2 (1625–1649) | url= http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924092524382#page/n223/mode/2up |volume=2| location=Exeter | publisher=William Pollard and Co| access-date = 30 July 2019}}</ref> He was related to [[Thomas de Littleton]], a 15th-century jurist and legal theorist of the [[Lyttelton family|Littleton/Lyttelton family]]. He matriculated at [[St Edmund Hall, Oxford]] in 1665 and was admitted at [[Inner Temple]] in 1666. In 1671, he was called to the bar. He succeeded his father in the [[Littleton baronets|baronetcy]] on 12 April 1681.  On 6 September 1682, he married Anne Baun (died 1714), daughter of Benjamin Baun alias Baron, of Westcote, Gloucestershire.<ref name=HOP2/>

Littleton was returned as [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Woodstock (UK Parliament constituency)|Woodstock]] at the [[1689 English general election]].<ref name = HOP>{{cite web| url =http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/littleton-sir-thomas-1647-1710 | title= LITTLETON, alias POYNTZ, Sir Thomas, 3rd Bt. (1647–1710), of North Ockendon, Essex Stoke St. Milborough, Salop.| publisher= History of Parliament Online (1660–1690)| access-date = 30 July 2019 }}</ref> He was [[List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England|Speaker]] of the [[House of Commons of England]] from 1698 to 1700. He was appointed [[Treasurer of the Navy]] in 1699 and held the post for the rest of his life. At the [[1702 English general election]] he was returned as MP for [[Castle Rising (UK Parliament constituency)|Castle Rising]]. At the [[1705 English general election]] he was returned as MP for [[Chichester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chichester]]. He was returned as MP for [[Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth]] at the [[1708 British general election]].<ref name = HOP2>{{cite web| url = http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/littleton-sir-thomas-1647-1709  | title= LITTLETON, alias POYNTZ, Sir Thomas, 3rd Bt. (1647–1709), of North Ockenden, Essex and Stoke St. Milborough, Salop.| publisher= History of Parliament Online (1690–1715)| access-date = 30 July 2019 }}</ref>

Upon his death, without issue in 1709 aged 62, the baronetcy expired,<ref name=Cokayne2b/> but his estate passed to his first cousin Mrs Elizabeth Meynell, the daughter of his uncle Edward Littleton.
 
[[Thomas Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay|Macaulay]] thus sums up the character of Speaker Littleton and his relations with the [[Whiggism|Whigs]]: "He was one of their ablest, most zealous and most steadfast friends; and had been, both in the House of Commons and at the board of treasury, an invaluable second to Montague" (the Earl of Halifax).

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|en}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Woodstock (UK Parliament constituency)|Woodstock]]
  | with   = [[John Doyley|Sir John Doyley]] 1689–1690
  | with2  = [[Sir Thomas Wheate, 1st Baronet|Thomas Wheate]] 1690–1695
  | with3  = [[James Bertie]] 1695–1702
  | years  = 1689–1702
  | before = [[Richard Bertie (soldier)|Richard Bertie]]<br />[[Littleton Osbaldeston|Sir Littleton Osbaldeston, Bt]]
  | after  = [[James Bertie]]<br />[[Sir William Glynne, 2nd Baronet|Sir William Glynne, Bt]]
}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Castle Rising (UK Parliament constituency)|Castle Rising]]
  | with   = [[Horatio Walpole (died 1717)|Horatio Walpole]]
  | years  = 1702–1705
  | before = [[Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford|Robert Walpole]]<br />[[William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire|Marquess of Hartington]]
  | after  = [[Horatio Walpole (died 1717)|Horatio Walpole]]<br />[[Robert Clayton (Lord Mayor)|Sir Robert Clayton]]
}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Chichester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chichester]]
  | with   = [[William Elson (died 1727)|William Elson]] 1705
  | with2  = [[Thomas Onslow, 2nd Baron Onslow|Thomas Onslow]] 1705–1707
  | years  = 1705–1707
  | before = [[Sir John Miller, 2nd Baronet|John Miller]]<br />[[William Elson (died 1727)|William Elson]]
  | after  = Parliament of Great Britain
}}
{{s-par|gb}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Chichester (UK Parliament constituency)|Chichester]]
  | with   = [[Thomas Onslow, 2nd Baron Onslow|Thomas Onslow]]
  | years  = [[1707 British general election|1707]]–1708
  | before = Parliament of England
  | after  = [[Thomas Carr (MP)|Thomas Carr]]<br />[[Richard Farington|Sir Richard Farington, Bt]]
}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[Member of Parliament]] for [[Portsmouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Portsmouth]]
  | with   = [[George Churchill (Royal Navy officer)|George Churchill]]
  | years  = 1708–1709
  | before = [[George Churchill (Royal Navy officer)|George Churchill]]<br />[[Thomas Erle]]
  | after  = [[George Churchill (Royal Navy officer)|George Churchill]]<br />[[Charles Wager|Sir Charles Wager]]
}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[Treasurer of the Navy]]
  | years  = 1668–1671
  | alongside = [[Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds|Sir Thomas Osborne]]
  | before = [[Arthur Annesley, 1st Earl of Anglesey|The Earl of Anglesey]]
  | after  = [[Thomas Osborne, 1st Duke of Leeds|Sir Thomas Osborne]]
}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[Clerk of the Ordnance]]
  | years  = 1690–1696
  | before = [[John Swaddell]]
  | after  = [[Christopher Musgrave (administrator)|Christopher Musgrave]]
}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [[List of Speakers of the House of Commons of England|Speaker of the House of Commons of England]]
  | years = 1698–1700
  | before = [[Paul Foley (ironmaster)|Paul Foley]]
  | after  = [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer|Robert Harley]]
}}
{{succession box | title=[[Treasurer of the Navy]] | before=[[Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford|The Earl of Orford]] | after=[[Robert Walpole]] | years=1699–1710}}
{{s-reg|en-bt}}
{{s-bef | before=[[Sir Thomas Littleton, 2nd Bt|Thomas Littleton]]}}
{{s-ttl | title=[[Littleton Baronets|Baronet]]<br />'''(of Stoke Milburgh, Suffolk)''' | years=1681–1709}}
{{s-non | reason=Extinct}}
{{s-end}}

{{Speaker of the British House of Commons}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Littleton, Thomas}}
[[Category:Baronets in the Baronetage of England|Littleton, Thomas, 3rd Bt]]
[[Category:Speakers of the House of Commons of England]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies]]
[[Category:1647 births]]
[[Category:1709 deaths]]
[[Category:People from North Ockendon]]
[[Category:English MPs 1689–1690]]
[[Category:English MPs 1690–1695]]
[[Category:English MPs 1695–1698]]
[[Category:English MPs 1698–1700]]
[[Category:English MPs 1701]]
[[Category:English MPs 1701–1702]]
[[Category:English MPs 1702–1705]]
[[Category:English MPs 1705–1707]]
[[Category:British MPs 1707–1708]]
[[Category:British MPs 1708–1710]]
[[Category:Lyttelton family|Thomas]]