John Phillpotts (land agent) facts for kids

John Phillpotts

John Phillpotts (1743–1814) was a landowner and businessman who lived a long time ago. He is mostly remembered as the father of Henry Phillpotts, who became a famous, and sometimes debated, Bishop of Exeter.

Life of John Phillpotts

John Phillpotts received a family estate called Sonke in Llangarron, Herefordshire, in 1769. This happened when his father passed away. The Phillpotts family had owned this estate since the mid-1500s.

In 1770, John Phillpotts moved to Bridgwater in Somerset. There, he bought a factory that made bricks and tiles. The next year, he married a local woman named Elizabeth Everard. Sadly, Elizabeth died just over a year later, and they did not have any children. In 1773, when he was thirty years old, John married again. His new wife, Sibella Glover, was ten years younger than him. She came from a wealthy family in Somerset.

In 1782, Phillpotts sold his brick factory. He moved with his family to Gloucester. In Gloucester, he bought a hotel called the Bell Inn. He also got a job as a Land Agent for the people who managed Gloucester Cathedral. He became a freeman of Gloucester City on September 28, 1782. This meant he had special rights in the city. He gained this status by paying a fee. In 1791, Phillpotts sold the Sonke estate, which connected him to his family's rural past. He also sold the Bell Inn in the same year.

John Phillpotts' Family

John and Sibella Phillpotts had many children. One old newspaper notice said Sibella Phillpotts had 24 children in total. However, records have been found for 15 of them. Six of their children lived to be adults: two daughters and four sons.

Their oldest son, John Phillpotts (1775–1849), became well-known in local politics in Gloucester. The second son, Henry Phillpotts (1778–1869), became a very important bishop. Thomas Phillpotts (1785–1862), the third son who survived, became a merchant who traded with the West Indies. He owned property in Gloucester Quays. The youngest son, George Phillpotts (1794–1853), served in the British Army. He died while working as the Acting Governor of Bermuda.

After John Phillpotts passed away in 1814, his wife Sibella and their two surviving daughters continued to live in their house. This house was on Parker's Row, which is now Brunswick Road, in Gloucester. The daughters never married. They spent their lives doing good deeds for others. The younger daughter, Isabella Phillpotts (1790–1825), was known as "the angel of the prisons." She died at the age of 34. Sibella Phillpotts herself died in December 1833. The other daughter was Susanna Phillpotts (1779–1837).

John and Sibella Phillpotts, along with Susanna and Isabella, are all buried together. Their family tomb is inside St Mary de Crypt Church in Southgate, Gloucester.

Images for kids

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  Sibella Phillpotts

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  Llangarron Court, also known as "The Sonke," in Herefordshire. This was the Phillpotts family's old home.

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  The Bell Inn, Gloucester, around 1900.