Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet facts for kids
Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet (1732–1804) was an English landowner and politician. He was a member of the House of Commons, which is like the main law-making group in England. He served there from 1771 to 1804.
Sir Francis also worked in India. He was the Governor of a place called Cossimbazar. People sometimes called him an English "nabob" because he became very wealthy in India. A nabob was a European who got rich in India, often through trade or by working for the East India Company.
Early Life and Work in India
Francis Sykes was born in 1732 in Thornhill, a town in West Yorkshire.
He joined the British East India Company. This was a powerful English trading company that operated in India. Sykes made a lot of money in a region called Bengal. He worked at the court of the local ruler, known as the Nawab. A Nawab was a powerful governor or prince in India.
Sykes became the Governor of Cossimbazar, an important trading post. While in India, he became good friends with two very famous British figures: Warren Hastings and Lord Clive. They were both key leaders for the British in India.
Return to England and Political Life
After his time in India, Sykes returned to England. He used his wealth to buy large estates. These included Ackworth Park in Yorkshire and Basildon Park in Berkshire.
He became a Member of Parliament (MP). An MP is a person elected to represent a group of people in the House of Commons. Sir Francis first represented the town of Shaftesbury. Later, he became the MP for Wallingford.
In 1781, he received a special honor called a baronetcy. This meant he became a "Baronet," which is a hereditary title, like a knight but passed down through the family. He was then known as Sir Francis Sykes, 1st Baronet.
Sir Francis lived in Basildon. He passed away in 1804. Sadly, his grand house there was not fully finished before he died. His son, Francis William Sykes (1767–1804), also became an MP for Wallingford.
Memorial
Both Sir Francis and his son are remembered with a special memorial. It is located in St Bartholomew's Church, Lower Basildon. This memorial is quite unique because it uses parts of an old 14th-century stone tomb. A famous artist named John Flaxman created the sculptures for it.
