Background
Wharton was the son of Sir Thomas Wharton of Aske Hall and his wife Lady Philadelphia Carey, daughter of Robert Carey, 1st Earl of Monmouth. His father died in 1622 and he inherited the peerage on the death of his grandfather in 1625.
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Philip Wharton
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Career
He was a Parliamentarian during the English Civil War. Wharton was appointed as the Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire by Parliament in July 1642. However Lord Strange arrived first.
Nevertheless some of the local inhabitants resisted his entry to the town and suffered one casualty in repelling him.
This one of the first skirmishes of the First English Civil War. He also served on the Committee for Both Kingdoms.
He was involved in unmasking a plot involving Thomas Ogle, which aimed to separate any unity between the Scottish Covenanters and the English Parliament, while simultaneously drawing the Independents to support the King in exchange for religious toleration. Following the restoration of the monarchy he frequently ran into difficulty with the Crown.
In 1676 he was imprisoned in the Tower of London and later (in 1685) fled the country when King James II came to the throne.
He spent time while abroad in the Court of the Prince of Orange and subsequently his family line was back in Royal favour when the latter came to the throne of England in 1688. He was unfailing in his admiration for Cromwell, and his belief that Parliament had been in the right in the Civil War: in 1689 he angrily demanded that Henry Hyde, 2nd Earl of Clarendon, withdraw a reference to the Civil War as a rebellion. Lord Wharton married Anne Popham (née Carr), the widow of Colonel Edward Popham.
Anne brought two children from marriage with George: Letitia aged 13 and Alexander aged 12.
Alexander was a deaf mute and under the guidance of Doctor John Wallis in Oxford, was one of the first deaf people in the world to learn to speak. William died on 14 December 1687, killed in a duel.
Lord Wharton was a prominent art collector and patron. Lord Wharton gave much support to church ministers, particularly those who shared his perspectives. he also gave money to establish chapels at Ravenstonedale and Smarber and to provide for the ministers at both places.
In his will he left land near York to support a Bible charity, which was devoted to the distribution of bibles to children for use outside of the church or school.
The terms of the will require the recipient to learn by rote the 1st, 15th, 25th, 37th, 101st, 113th, 145th psalms. The will also requires the Shorter Catechism also be included. Many thousands of Bibles have been distributed and the Trust still distributes Bibles to under eighteen year-olds.
