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{{Short description|British politician}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2016}}
'''Thomas Hyde Villiers''' (24 January 1801 – 3 December 1832) was a British politician from the [[Villiers family]].

The second son of the Hon. [[George Villiers (1759–1827)|George Villiers]] (third son of [[Thomas Villiers, 1st Earl of Clarendon]]), he was educated at [[St John's College, Cambridge]].<ref>{{acad|id=VLRS817TH|name=Villiers, Thomas Hyde}}</ref> He served in the [[Colonial Office]] from 1822 to 1825, and was agent for [[Berbice]] and [[Colony of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]].

He was Member of Parliament for [[Hedon (UK Parliament constituency)|Hedon]] from 1826 to 1830, for [[Wootton Bassett (UK Parliament constituency)|Wootton Bassett]] in 1830, and for [[Bletchingley (UK Parliament constituency)|Bletchingley]] from 1831 to 1832. He held office as [[Secretary to the Board of Control]] from 1831 until 1832.

==Early life==
He was the second son of George Villiers (1759–1827), who married, on 17 April 1798, Theresa, only daughter of [[John Parker, 1st Baron Boringdon]]. [[George William Frederick Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon]] was their eldest son, [[Charles Pelham Villiers]] their third son, and [[Henry Montagu Villiers]] their fifth son.<ref name="DNB">{{cite DNB|wstitle=Villiers, Thomas Hyde}}</ref>

Thomas Villiers was educated at home; he was then sent with his eldest brother to St. John's College, Cambridge. There he mixed with [[Charles Austin (lawyer)|Charles Austin]], [[Edward Strutt, 1st Baron Belper|Edward Strutt]], [[John Romilly, 1st Baron Romilly|John Romilly]], [[Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay|Thomas Babington Macaulay]], and others, most of them followers of [[Jeremy Bentham]]. In 1822 he graduated B.A., and in 1825 he proceeded M.A. On taking his degree in 1822 he entered the colonial office, where [[Sir Henry Taylor]] became early in 1824 his subordinate and then a close friend. The brothers lived during the earlier years of their lives with their parents in a part of Kent House in Knightsbridge, but from 1825 Thomas Hyde Villiers and Taylor shared a house in Suffolk Street.<ref name="DNB"/>

==Politician==
Villiers joined in 1825 a debating club called "The Academics", where several of his college friends and [[John Stuart Mill]] discussed political and economic topics. A speech of his, aon colonisation, attracted the attention of the chancellor of the exchequer. Not long afterwards Villiers gave up government service to embark on politics. His chief source of income at that point was from the agencies for Berbice and Newfoundland.<ref name="DNB"/>

At the general election in June 1826 Villiers was returned to parliament for the borough of Hedon in Yorkshire, and sat for it until the dissolution in 1830. In 1830 and 1831 he sat respectively for Wootton Bassett (a family borough) and Bletchingley, and voted for the [[Reform Bill]].<ref name="DNB"/>

Between 1825 and 1828, Villiers and [[Robert Wilmot-Horton|Sir Robert Wilmot-Horton]] wrote, under the pseudonym 'Vindex', articles to the Star newspaper, in which they refuted the objections that others had made to the analysis of slavery made by [[Thomas Moody (1779-1849)|Thomas Moody, Kt.]], the Parliamentary Commissioner on West Indian Slavery, and defended the character of Moody.<ref name="Lamont">{{cite web|url=http://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30676/1/SP%20Lamont%20thesis%20-%20electronic%20version.pdf|title=Robert Wilmot Horton and Liberal Toryism|author=Lamont, Stephen Peter|publisher=University of Nottingham|year=2015}}</ref>

Villiers travelled in Ireland in 1828, and set out his views in long letters to Taylor. A letter written by him in February 1829 was shown to [[Richard Lalor Sheil]], who then brought about the suppression of the Catholic Association. He suggested in 1831 the formation of the commission that laid the foundation of the new poor law, and assisted in its preliminary inquiries. On 18 May 1831 he became [[Secretary to the Board of Control]] under [[Charles Grant, 1st Baron Glenelg|Charles Grant]]. Later in the year (2 November 1831) Villiers and Taylor entered as students at [[Lincoln's Inn]]. On 22 August 1831 he made a long speech in the House of Commons on the [[Methuen treaty]] with Portugal.<ref>[https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1831/aug/22/wine-duties-1#S3V0006P0_18310822_HOC_118 House of Commons Hansard, 22 August 1831, col 437-440.]</ref> The committees on Indian affairs were organised by Villiers, with the assistance of [[Lord Althorp]]. The renewal of the charter to the [[East India Company]] at this time preoccupied him.<ref name="DNB"/>

==Family==
Villiers and Charlotte Harte had two children: Rev. Charles Lawrence Villiers (1830 – 15 October 1893), Rector of Croft Parish in Yorkshire,<ref>[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?db=uki1881&indiv=try&h=26617327] Charles Villiers in the 1881 England Census; Class: RG11; Piece: 4890; Folio: 21; Page: 1; GSU roll: 1342176. Ancestry.com and The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 1881 England Census (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2004. Original data: Census Returns of England and Wales, 1881. Kew, Surrey, England: The National Archives of the UK (TNA): Public Record Office (PRO), 1881.</ref> and Gertrude Villiers (1 August 1834{{doubtful|date=August 2016}} – 2 July 1896),<ref>[http://www.thepeerage.com/p22496.htm#c224959.2 Thomas Hyde Villiers]</ref> who in 1853 married Rev. William Frederick Bickmore.

Rev. Villiers married Florence Mary Tyssen Amhurst and had issue, including a daughter named Gertrude Mary Amelia Villiers (1861 – 30 Aug 1949)<ref>[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=FreeBMDBirth&h=17989956&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&rhSource=7619] Gertrude Mary Amelia Lawrence in the England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915. FreeBMD. England & Wales, FreeBMD Birth Index, 1837-1915 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office.</ref><ref>[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=UKProbateCal&h=17008225&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&rhSource=7579] Honorable Gertrude Mary Amelia Grimston
 in the England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995. Ancestry.com. England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1966, 1973-1995 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Original data: Principal Probate Registry. Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration made in the Probate Registries of the High Court of Justice in England. London, England.</ref> who in 1896 married Hon. Robert Grimston (18 April 1860 – 8 July 1927).<ref>[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=alumni6&h=119591&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&rhSource=1904] The Honourable Robert Grimston in the Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900. Ancestry.com. Cambridge University Alumni, 1261-1900 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 1999. Original data: Venn, J. A., comp.. Alumni Cantabrigienses. London, England: Cambridge University Press, 1922-1954.</ref><ref>[http://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&db=ONSDeath93&h=17362566&tid=&pid=&usePUB=true&rhSource=7814] Robert Grimston in the England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007. Ancestry.com. England & Wales, Death Index, 1916-2007 (database on-line). Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2007. Original data: General Register Office. England and Wales Civil Registration Indexes. London, England: General Register Office. © Crown copyright. Published by permission of the Controller of HMSO and the Office for National Statistics. You must not copy on, transfer or reproduce records without the prior permission of ONS. Indexes created by the General Register Office, in London, England.</ref>

==Death==
At the time of his death Villiers was a candidate for the constituency of [[Penryn and Falmouth]] in [[Cornwall]]. After three months' suffering from an abscess in the head, he died on 3 December 1832 at [[Carclew]], the seat of Sir [[Charles Lemon]], near Penryn, where he was staying. A monument was placed to his memory in [[Mylor, Cornwall|Mylor]] church.<ref name="DNB"/>

==References==
{{reflist}}
*{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-thomas-villiers | Thomas Hyde Villiers }}

;Attribution
{{DNB|wstitle=Villiers, Thomas Hyde}}

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{{succession box
 | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Hedon (UK Parliament constituency)|Hedon]]
 | years  = [[1826 United Kingdom general election|1826]]–[[1830 United Kingdom general election|1830]]
 | with   = [[John Baillie of Leys|John Baillie]]
 | before = [[Robert Farrand]]<br />[[John Baillie of Leys|John Baillie]]
 | after  = [[Robert Farrand]]<br />[[Sir Thomas Clifford-Constable, 2nd Baronet|Sir Thomas Clifford-Constable, Bt]]
}}
{{succession box
 | title  = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Wootton Bassett (UK Parliament constituency)|Wootton Bassett]]
 | years  = [[1830 United Kingdom general election|1830]]–[[1831 United Kingdom general election|1831]]
 | with   = [[Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope|Viscount Mahon]]
 | before = [[Sir George Philips, 1st Baronet|Sir George Philips, Bt]]<br />[[Horace Twiss]]
 | after  = [[Henry John George Herbert, 3rd Earl of Carnarvon|Lord Porchester]]<br />[[Philip Henry Stanhope, 5th Earl Stanhope|Viscount Mahon]]
}}

{{s-bef | before = [[Charles Tennyson d'Eyncourt|Charles Tennyson]]<br />[[John Ponsonby, 5th Earl of Bessborough|Hon. John Ponsonby]] }}
{{s-ttl
 | title = [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Member of Parliament]] for [[Bletchingley (UK Parliament constituency)|Bletchingley]]
 | years = 1831–[[1832 United Kingdom general election|1832]]
 | with  = [[Henry John Temple, 3rd Viscount Palmerston|the Viscount Palmerston]]
}}
{{s-non | reason = Constituency abolished }}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box | title=[[Secretary to the Board of Control]] | before=[[Dudley Ryder, 2nd Earl of Harrowby|Viscount Sandon]] | after=[[Thomas Babington Macaulay]] | years=1831–1832}}
{{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Villers, Thomas H}}
[[Category:1801 births]]
[[Category:1832 deaths]]
[[Category:Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1826–1830]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1830–1831]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1831–1832]]
[[Category:Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge]]
[[Category:Villiers family|Thomas Hyde]]