Sir Cholmeley Dering, 4th Baronet

Sir Cholmeley Dering, 4th Baronet (23 June 1679 - 9 May 1711) was an English politician and duellist.

He was the eldest son of Sir Edward Dering, 3rd Baronet of Surrenden in Pluckley, Kent by Elizabeth, daughter of Sir William Cholmeley, 2nd Baronet of Whitby, Yorkshire. Cholmeley Dering was ten years old when he succeeded his father as baronet in 1689.

On 17 July 1704 he was married to Mary, only child of Edward Fisher of Fulham and his wife Ellen; Dering's widowed mother and grandmother both died that year. Mary herself was to die in 1707 aged only 20, perhaps as a result of the birth of their younger son Cholmeley. [Haslewood, Rev. Francis. (1876). "Genealogical Memoranda of the Family of Dering". London.]

Sir Cholmeley was the fourth successive head of the family to be MP for Kent. He was elected in 1705 to Queen Anne's second parliament, which would prove to be the last Parliament of England and the first of Great Britain. He retained the seat at the following Parliament in 1708. ["The History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent, Volume I". (1797). British History Online. [http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=53769#s23] ]

Sir Cholmeley was dining with others at an inn near Hampton Court on 7 May 1711 when he became involved in an argument with Richard Thornhill; they came to blows and in the ensuing struggle Dering kicked out several of Thornhill's teeth. Their companions broke up the fight, but Thornhill afterwards sent Dering a note challenging him to a duel at Tothill Fields in Westminster on the morning of the 9 May. The duel was with pistols, both being fired but only Dering was hit and he died soon after. Thornhill was tried for murder but convicted of the lesser offence of manslaughter, in light of the original provocation. [Burke, Peter. (1849). "Celebrated Trials connected with the Aristocracy". London:William Benning & Co. (The use of April rather than May throughout the account seems to be an error.)]

The incident is recorded by Jonathan Swift in his "Journal to Stella" [Swift, Jonathan. "Journal to Stella". [http://books.google.com/books?id=1y0CAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA259] ] and was alluded to by Richard Steele in "The Spectator" ["The Spectator" Number 84. (6 June 1771). [http://books.google.com/books?id=FSZnHp6QoQcC&pg=PA277] ] . Thornhill was murdered on Turnham Green on 20 August the same year, by two men who allegedly invoked Dering's name as they killed him. [Swift, "Journal to Stella". [http://books.google.com/books?id=1y0CAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA335] ]

ee also

*List of famous duels

References