John Pitt (of Encombe)
remodelled by Pitt between 1740 and 1770
John Pitt (~1706 – 1787) of Encombe House, Dorset was a British MP for 35 years from which there remains one reported speech to Parliament.
Life[]
John was the fourth son of George Pitt (1663–1735) MP of Strathfieldsaye and second son by his second wife née Lora Grey of Kingston Maurward nr Dorchester. He was educated at Queen's College, Oxford.
The property enabling George Morton Pitt's control of the Pontefract seat came to John Pitt (of Encombe) by remainder but he sold it in 1766.
He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1775.[1]
Elections to Parliament[]
Constituencies:
- Wareham - Held by John Pitt: 1734–47 and 26 January 1748 – November 1750 (held by his grandfather George Pitt (1625-1694) from 1660 to 1679)[2]
- Wareham was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The borough was the town of Wareham on the Isle of Purbeck, a market town close to Poole Harbour. In 1831, the population of the borough was 1,676, and it contained 364 houses.
- Dorchester - Held by John Pitt: 29 January 1751 - 1761[2]
- Dorchester was a parliamentary constituency centred on the town of Dorchester in Dorset. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons.
- Wareham - Held again by John Pitt: 1761–1768[2]
Acts[]
A procedure to allow resignation from the House of Commons was invented by Pitt to vacate his Wareham seat, as he wished to stand for Dorchester but could not be a candidate while still an MP. Pitt wrote to Prime Minister Henry Pelham in May 1750 reporting that he had been invited to stand in Dorchester, and asking for "a new mark of his Majesty's favour [to] enable me to do him these further services".[3] Pelham wrote to William Pitt (the elder) indicating that he would intervene with King George II to help.[4] On 17 January 1751 Pitt was appointed to the office of Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds, and was then elected unopposed for Dorchester.
His one reported speech was on a petition of West Country merchants who complained of French encroachments at Newfoundland.[2]
Political appointments[]
- A Lord of Trade 1744–55
- A Lord of the Admiralty November - December 1756
- Surveyor General of Woods and Forests: 1756–63, 1768–86[2]
Death[]
He died in 1787. He had married, on 26 January 1753, Marcia daughter of Mark Anthony Morgan of Cottelstown County Sligo and they had one daughter and four sons[2] including William Morton Pitt of Kingston House, Dorset. His daughter, Marcia Pitt, married George James Cholmondeley (b. 22 Feb 1752, d. 5 Nov 1830).
References[]
- ^ "Fellow details". Royal Society. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
- ^ Jump up to: a b c d e f Sir Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The House of Commons 1754-1790 1 Survey Constituencies Appendices, History of Parliament Trust, Secker & Warburg, London 1964
- ^ 'Pitt, John' in History of Parliament 1715–1754, vol II p. 350-1, citing Newcastle (Clumber) mss.
- ^ 'Pitt, John' in History of Parliament 1715–1754, vol II p. 350-1, citing Chatham Corresp. i. 53–54.
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- 1706 births
- 1787 deaths
- Alumni of The Queen's College, Oxford
- English landowners
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- British MPs 1734–1741
- British MPs 1741–1747
- British MPs 1747–1754
- British MPs 1754–1761
- British MPs 1761–1768
- Fellows of the Royal Society