John Knight (died 1733) facts for kids
John Knight (born around 1686 – died 1733) was an important landowner from Gosfield Hall in Essex, England. He was also a Whig politician who served in the House of Commons, which is like a country's main law-making group, from 1710 until he passed away in 1733.
Early Life and Family
John Knight was the only son of a man also named John Knight and his wife Elizabeth. He started studying law at a place called Middle Temple in 1702. Then, in 1703, when he was 16, he went to Wadham College, Oxford to continue his studies.
His first wife was Elizabeth Slaughter. John Knight inherited a lot of money and land when his father died in 1708. Around 1710, he bought many estates in Cornwall from John Tredenham.
His Time as a Politician
Because of the land he bought from Tredenham, John Knight gained influence in the area of St Mawes. In the election of 1710, he became a Member of Parliament (MP) for St Germans without anyone running against him.
At first, some people thought he might be a Tory (another political group), but he voted against a peace plan that many Tories supported. This showed he was leaning more towards the Whig party. In 1714, he voted against removing a person named Richard Steele from Parliament, and this confirmed he was a Whig.
In 1715, John Knight bought Gosfield Hall, a large and beautiful house. In the election that same year, he was again elected as an MP for St Germans without opposition. He usually voted with the government at that time.
Later, in the 1722 election, he became an MP for Sudbury. In the 1727 election, he was elected for both Sudbury and St Mawes, but he chose to represent Sudbury. During his time in Parliament, he sometimes voted with the government and sometimes against them, depending on the issue. For example, he voted against the government on army matters in 1732 but supported them on the Excise Bill in 1733.
Later Life and What He Left Behind
On March 13, 1724, John Knight married his second wife, Anne Newsham. She was the widow of another MP, John Newsham, and the daughter of James Craggs the Elder. Anne was a friend of the famous poet Alexander Pope, and both she and John Knight wrote letters to him.
John Knight passed away on October 2, 1733. He had one daughter who survived him from his second marriage. His wife, Anne, inherited his estates. She had a special monument made by a famous sculptor named John Michael Rysbrack and had a message written on it by Alexander Pope. This monument was placed in Gosfield church to remember John Knight.
