Sir Edward Seymour, 5th Baronet


Sir Edward Seymour, of Berry Pomeroy, 5th Baronet of Bradley House, Maiden Bradley, Wiltshire was an English landowner and Tory politician.

Early life

Seymour was baptized on 18 December 1663, the eldest son of the Royalist and Tory politician Sir Edward Seymour, 4th Baronet and his first wife, Margaret Wale. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford in 1679. He married his cousin Laetitia Popham, the daughter of Sir Francis Popham, of Littlecote, Wiltshire, and his wife Eleanor Rogers, on 11 August 1685. She was also the niece of his stepmother, also named Letitia Popham, who died in 1714.

Career

At the 1690 English general election, Seymour was returned as Member of Parliament for West Looe. He stood down at the 1695 English general election.
Seymour succeeded his father on 17 February 1708 to the baronetcy and the huge original Bradley House in Wiltshire. At the 1708 British general election, he stood on his own interest as Tory MP for Totnes. He made little impression, but voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell. At the 1710 British general election, he was returned as MP for Great Bedwyn with Lord Bruce. He was listed as a ‘worthy patriot’ who I helped to detect the mismanagements of the previous administration, but developed reservations about the Tory administration of Harley. He was returned again at the 1713 British general election, but did not stand in 1715.
Seymour completed Bradley House in 1710, which enabled the family to leave their crumbling seat at Berry Pomeroy Castle in Devon. He also acquired and rebuilt Rumwell Hall at Bishop's Hull, Somerset in 1733.

Death and legacy

Seymour died on 29 December 1740. By his wife he had twelve children:
His estate passed to his eldest son, Edward, who reunited the two branches of the Seymour family when he inherited the dukedom of Somerset in 1750.