John St Leger Douglas

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Springfield Place, Chelmsford, Essex Springfield Place, Springfield, Essex - geograph.org.uk - 132627.jpg
Springfield Place, Chelmsford, Essex

John St. Leger Douglas (c.1732 – 23 May 1783) was an 18th-century member of the House of Commons of Great Britain. He owned Springfield Place, near Chelmsford, Essex.

House of Commons of Great Britain historic British lower house of Parliament

The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant changes brought about by the Union of the kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Chelmsford city in Essex, United Kingdom

Chelmsford is the principal settlement of the City of Chelmsford district, and the county town of Essex, in the East of England. It is located in the London commuter belt, approximately 30 miles (48 km) northeast of the notional centre of London at Charing Cross and approximately 22 miles (35 km) from Colchester. The urban area of the city has a population of approximately 112,000, whilst the district has a population of 168,310.

Contents

Early life and education

Douglas was the eldest son of John St. Leger Douglas, a West Indian plantation owner, and his wife, Susannah, daughter of Michael Lambert, Deputy-Governor of St Kitts. He was a grandson of Col. Walter Douglas of Baads, Midlothian, Governor of the Leeward Islands. He was educated at Westminster School (1743), aged 10, and at Trinity College, Cambridge (1748). [1] He succeeded his father in 1747.

Colonel Walter Douglas was Captain-General and Governor-General of the Leeward Islands.

Westminster School school in Westminster, UK

Westminster School is a Public School in London, England, located within the precincts of Westminster Abbey. With origins before the 12th century, the educational tradition of Westminster probably dates back as far as 960, in line with the Abbey's history. Boys are admitted to the Under School at age seven and to the senior school at age thirteen; girls are admitted at age sixteen into the Sixth Form. The school has around 750 pupils; around a quarter are boarders, most of whom go home at weekends, after Saturday morning school. The school motto, Dat Deus Incrementum, is taken from the New Testament, specifically 1 Corinthians 3:6.

Trinity College, Cambridge constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. With around 600 undergraduates, 300 graduates, and over 180 fellows, it is the largest college in either of the Oxbridge universities by number of undergraduates. In terms of total student numbers, it is second only to Homerton College, Cambridge.

Career

He was Member of Parliament for Hindon from 1769, at a time when bribery was the norm in this constituency, until 1774, and Member of Parliament for Weobley 1774 – 23 May 1783, when he died. [1] In his only recorded speech in the House of Commons, he supported the Government against the interests of the West Indies even after the outbreak of war against America in 1775, declaring that he too 'had a considerable estate in the West Indies'. [2]

Hindon was a parliamentary borough consisting of the village of Hindon in Wiltshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons from 1448 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act. It was one of the most notoriously corrupt of the rotten boroughs, and bills to disfranchise Hindon were debated in Parliament on two occasions before its eventual abolition.

Weobley was a parliamentary borough in Herefordshire, which elected two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in 1295 and from 1628 until 1832, when the borough was abolished by the Great Reform Act.

He bought Springfield Place in Chelmsford and improved the grounds. He bred racehorses, including the undefeated thoroughbred Goldfinder.

Goldfinder (horse) 18th-century British Thoroughbred racehorse

Goldfinder (1764–1789) was an undefeated Thoroughbred racehorse. His wins included two Newmarket Challenge Cup and Whips. After retiring from racing he became a successful sire.

Family

Douglas was twice married, having children by both wives. His daughter Charlotte married her cousin Admiral John Leigh Douglas (1741–1810). [3]

On his death in 1783 he left his estates in St Kitts in trust for his son William Douglas and his other properties and personal estate on trust to his brother Lieutenant-colonel James Douglas to provide cash amounts for his other children on their majority. [4]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Douglas, John St. Leger (c.1732-83), of Springfield Place, nr. Chelmsford, Essex, History of Parliament Online" . Retrieved 11 November 2017.
  2. The House of Commons: 1660-1690; Stanley T. Bindoff, et al.
  3. Johnston, George Harvey (1907). "The heraldry of the Douglases : with notes on all the males of the family, descriptions of the arms, plates and pedigrees". Internet Archive . Edinburgh; London: W. & A. K. Johnston. p. 93. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
  4. "John St. Leger Douglas". The Douglas Archives. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Simon Luttrell
Bamber Gascoyne
Member of Parliament for Weobley
With: William Lynch 1774–1780
Andrew Bayntun-Rolt 1780–1783
Succeeded by
Andrew Bayntun-Rolt
(Sir) John Scott