Thomas Dummer facts for kids
Thomas Dummer (born 1739, died 1781) was an important person in English politics. He was a Member of Parliament (MP) for several areas in England during the 1700s. An MP is someone elected by people to represent them in the country's government. Thomas Dummer owned large estates, including Cranbury Park in Hampshire.
Contents
Thomas Dummer's Political Journey
Thomas Dummer followed in his father's footsteps. When his father passed away in 1765, Thomas inherited the family's big estates. These included Cranbury Park near Winchester, and other lands near Southampton and in Leicestershire. He also took over his father's job as the MP for Newport on the Isle of Wight.
In 1768, Thomas Dummer lost his seat in Newport. The next year, in 1769, he became the MP for Yarmouth, which is also on the Isle of Wight. There was a bit of a mix-up with the election results at first. Two other people were thought to have won, but after a review, it was decided that Thomas Dummer and Major General George Lane Parker were the real winners.
In the 1774 election, Thomas Dummer tried to become an MP for Downton in Wiltshire. Again, he and another candidate were first declared the winners. However, after another review, it was found that they had not been properly elected. Instead, their opponents were given the seats.
The following year, he was elected to represent Wendover in Buckinghamshire. He stayed there until 1780. Then, he returned to Hampshire to be the MP for Lymington. He held this position until he passed away in 1781. In May 1773, he was also chosen to be a Fellow of the Royal Society. This is a group of very smart scientists and thinkers.
Cranbury Park Estate
When his father died in 1765, Thomas Dummer inherited the beautiful Cranbury Park estate. He wanted to make the estate even more special.
The City Cross Story
In 1770, Thomas Dummer bought a historic stone cross from the city of Winchester. This cross was known as the City Cross or Buttercross. He planned to move it to Cranbury Park. But when his workers arrived to take it apart, the people of Winchester were very upset. They caused a small protest, and the workers had to leave without the cross.
Because of this, the deal with the city was cancelled. Thomas Dummer still wanted a cross, so he built a copy of it using wood and plaster. This copy stood in the park for about sixty years before the weather eventually destroyed it.
Netley Abbey's New Home
Even though he couldn't get the City Cross, Thomas Dummer didn't give up on decorating his estate. He also owned the ruins of Netley Abbey, which was an old monastery. He decided to move a part of the abbey, called the north transept, to Cranbury Park.
You can still see these ruins in the gardens of the house today. They look like a folly, which is a building built just for decoration. The ruins include an arch, the bottom of a pillar, and a smaller version of a gateway tower. The back of the gateway was even turned into a small house for a keeper. People in the nearby village of Otterbourne call it "the Castle."
Thomas Dummer passed away in 1781 and did not have any children. He left his properties, including Cranbury and Netley, to his wife, Harriet. After her, the properties were meant to go to his friend, Thomas Chamberlayne. Harriet Dummer later married Thomas Chamberlayne. After he died, she married an artist named Nathaniel Dance in 1790. Nathaniel Dance later became Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland. He was also the brother of George Dance, who designed the main house at Cranbury Park that was built in 1780.
