John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington
John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington (1678 – 14 December 1734), known as John Shute until 1710, was an English dissenting
Background and education
Barrington was born as John Shute at
Career
Barrington was a
At the
Barrington had become sub-governor of the Harburg Company, which was founded to conduct trade between Great Britain and Hanover. The company had authority to raise capital by lottery at Harburg and Barrington's role was to obtain approval from Parliament to hold the lottery in England. Although he was told by Walpole and others that it was illegal and imprudent, the lottery went ahead. A parliamentary committee was set up to investigate, condemned the undertaking and concluded that Barrington had been guilty of "promoting, abetting, and carrying on a fraudulent undertaking". As a result, he was expelled from the House of Commons in 1723.[1] Some considered the punishment much too severe, and was thought to be due to Walpole's personal malice.[3]
In 1725, Barrington published his principal work, entitled Miscellanea Sacra or a New Method of considering so much of the History of the Apostles as is contained in Scripture,—afterwards reprinted with additions and corrections, in 1770, by his son Shute. In the same year he published An Essay on the Several Dispensations of God to Mankind.
Barrington stood again at Berwick at the 1727 general election and was defeated. He was confident of winning at the 1734 election, but Walpole decided to work against him. In the event Barrington lost by four votes.[1]
Death and legacy
Barrington died on 14 December 1734. He married Anne Daines, daughter of Sir William Daines, in 1713. Their five sons all gained distinction.
- William, the eldest, became Chancellor of the Exchequer;
- Major-General in the British Army;
- Daines was a lawyer, antiquarian and naturalist;
- Rear-Admiral in the Royal Navy;
- Shute became Bishop of Salisbury and Bishop of Durham.[4]
Their daughter Anne married the Hon. Thomas Clarges, son of Sir Thomas Clarges.
References
- ^ a b c d e "BARRINGTON, John (1678-1734), of Beckett, Berks". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
- ^ Deed Poll Office: Private Act of Parliament 1716 (3 Geo. 1). c. 8
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
- ^ Lundy, Darryl (17 June 2012). "John Barrington, 1st Viscount Barrington of Ardglass". The Peerage.