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Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton

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The Right Honourable
The Lord Ashburton
Member of Parliament
for Thetford
In office
1830–1831
Serving with Lord James FitzRoy
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Member of Parliament
for Thetford
In office
1832–1841
Serving with
Preceded by
  • Alexander Baring
  • Lord James Fitzroy
Succeeded by
  • Bingham Baring
  • Earl of Euston (1)
Member of Parliament
for Thetford
In office
1848–1857
Serving with Earl of Euston (2)
Preceded by
  • Earl of Euston (2)
  • Hon. Bingham Baring
Succeeded by
Personal details
Born(1800-05-20)20 May 1800
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died6 September 1868(1868-09-06) (aged 68)
Political partyTory
Other political
affiliations		Whig
ChildrenAlexander Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton

Francis Baring, 3rd Baron Ashburton (20 May 1800 – 6 September 1868[1]) was a British peer Whig and later Tory politician.

Early life

He was born in Philadelphia, United States, the second son of Alexander Baring and Ann Louisa, the daughter and coheiress of the wealthy William Bingham of Blackpoint, Philadelphia, a US Senator. He was the younger brother of Bingham Baring. Francis was educated privately and at Geneva and in 1817 joined Baring Brothers, the family bank. After successfully travelling on business to North America and the West Indies he was made a quarter share partner in the bank in 1823.[2]

However, after unfortunate financial speculations in Mexican land and in the French sugar market, he was demoted to a non-executive director in 1828 and in 1830 was given his brother's Parliamentary seat for Thetford.

Political career

He was elected at the 1830 general election as a Whig Member of Parliament (MP) for the borough of Thetford in Norfolk,[3] and held the seat until the 1831 election, which he did not contest.[3] He was re-elected in 1832 as a Tory,[4] and held the seat as a Conservative until the 1841 general election, which he did not contest.[4]

According to the Legacies of British Slave-Ownership at the University College London, Baring was awarded a payment as a slave trader in the aftermath of the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 with the Slave Compensation Act 1837. The British Government took out a £15 million loan (worth £1.8 billion in 2024[5]) with interest from Nathan Mayer Rothschild and Moses Montefiore which was subsequently paid off by the British taxpayers (ending in 2015). Baring was associated with eight different claims, he owned 1079 slaves in British Guiana and received a substantial payment.[6]

He was returned again for Thetford at a by-election in August 1848,[4] and held the seat until his resignation through appointment as Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds on 30 November 1857.[7]

Baring succeeded to the barony in 1864 on the death of his brother, Bingham Baring, becoming the 3rd Baron Ashburton.

Family

He married in 1832 Claire Hortense (c. 1812 – 1882), a daughter of Hugues-Bernard Maret, duc de Bassano, and moved to live in Paris. He was the father of Alexander Baring, 4th Baron Ashburton, and Hon. Marie Anne Louise Baring (wife of William FitzRoy, 6th Duke of Grafton).

Legacy

The town of Ashburton, New Zealand, is named for Francis Baring, who was a member of the Canterbury Association.

References

  1. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "T" (part 1)
  2. ^ "BARING, Francis (1800-1868), of The Grange, nr. Alresford, Hants and 82 Piccadilly, Mdx". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b Stooks Smith, Henry. (1973) [1844-1850]. Craig, F. W. S. (ed.). The Parliaments of England (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 228. ISBN 0-900178-13-2.
  4. ^ a b c Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 305. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  5. ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
  6. ^ "Francis Baring". University College London. Retrieved on 20 March 2019.
  7. ^ Department of Information Services (14 January 2010). "Appointments to the Chiltern Hundreds and Manor of Northstead Stewardships since 1850" (PDF). House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 February 2011. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Thetford
1830–1831
With: Lord James FitzRoy 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Thetford
1832–1841
With: Lord James FitzRoy to 1834
Earl of Euston (1) from 1834 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Thetford
1848–1857
With: Earl of Euston (2) 		Succeeded by
Peerage of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Baron Ashburton
1864–1868 		Succeeded by
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