styled 1698-1702 Visct. Lisle (L’Isle); suc. fa. 23 Nov. 1702 as 5th earl of LEICESTER.
First sat 10 Dec. 1702; last sat 15 Jan. 1705
MP Kent 1695–8.
b. 8 July 1676, 1st s. of Robert Sydney, styled Visct. Lisle (later 4th earl of Leicester), and Elizabeth, da. of John Egerton, 2nd earl of Bridgwater; bro. of John Sydney, later 6th earl of Leicester. educ. travelled abroad 1698. m. 17 Dec. 1700, Anne (d. 1726), da. and coh. of Sir Robert Reeve‡, 2nd bt. of Thwaite, Suff. d.s.p. d. 24 July 1705; will 20 June 1704, pr. 11 Aug. 1705.1
Associated with: Penshurst, Kent; Leicester House, Westminster.
As one of the knights of the shire for Kent, Sydney had shown himself to be both a reliable court supporter and a man with little interest in parliamentary activity. His career in the House of Lords was to prove little different. He took his seat on 10 Dec. 1702, and was then present on just under 40 per cent of the remaining sitting days of the session (23 per cent of the whole). He was named to five committees and was listed by Daniel Finch, 2nd earl of Nottingham, as a likely opponent of the bill to prevent occasional conformity.
During the 1703–4 session, Leicester’s attendance remained at a similar level, just under 23 per cent of sitting days. His attendances coincided with discussions of controversial issues such as the bill to prevent occasional conformity, Ashby v. White, the work of the commissioners of accounts and investigations into the Scotch Plot. He was present on 14 Dec. 1703 when the occasional conformity bill was rejected and voted in favour of its rejection, just as Charles Spencer, 3rd earl of Sunderland, had predicted. Otherwise he appears to have made little impact. He was named to the committee for privileges and to just three other committees.
Leicester attended Parliament only five times during the 1704–5 session. The subjects under discussion on those days included the occasional conformity bill and the state of the nation with regard to Scotland. On 6 Dec. 1704 he entered a proxy in favour of his kinsman Sunderland, which was vacated by his appearance in the House on 11 December. During the spring of 1705 Leicester was listed as a supporter of the Hanoverian succession. He was also rumoured to be the likely recipient of the lieutenancy of Kent.2 If it was ever seriously intended that he should have the post, the plan failed to take effect. Leicester already appears to have been suffering from ill health and he died not long after, on 24 July 1705. In his will, Leicester made a number of small bequests, mostly of keepsake items. The vast bulk of his estate was left to his wife, who was also named sole executrix. He was succeeded by his brother John as 6th earl of Leicester. His widow married John Sheppard of Campsea Ashe, Suffolk in 1709.
R.P./R.D.E.E.