Sir Charles Coote, 9th Baronet


Sir Charles Henry Coote, 9th Baronet was an Irish Conservative and Tory politician.

Family and early life

Coote was the son of Chidley Coote of Ash Hill, County Limerick, and Elizabeth Anne née Carr. Educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, he married Caroline Whaley in 1814. They had five sons and two daughters, including: Charles Henry ; John Chidley ; Algernon ; Caroline ; Robert ; and Chidley Downes.

Baronetcy

A distant descendant of Sir Charles Coote, 1st Baronet, he succeeded to the Coote baronetcy in 1802 upon the death of Charles Coote, 7th Earl of Mountrath. Upon his own death in 1864, the title passed to his eldest son, Sir Charles Henry Coote, 10th Baronet.

Member of Parliament

While he initially stood unsuccessfully in 1818 and 1820, Coote was first elected Tory MP for Queen's County at a by-election in 1821—caused by the elevation of William Wellesley-Pole to Lord Maryborough—and, becoming a Conservative in 1834, held the seat until 1847, when he did not seek re-election. During this period, he was known as a lax attender, and he generally divided with the Tory leader Lord Liverpool, occasionally siding with the Whigs on matters such as the abolition of joint-postmasterships and inquiries into the borough franchise.
He returned at the next election in 1852 and held the seat until 1859 when he, again, did not seek re-election.