John Langston (MP)
John Langston (c. 1758 – 18 February 1812) was an English
Early life and family
Langston was the oldest son of James Langston and his wife Sarah, of
In 1784 he married Sarah Goddard, daughter of John Goddard of Woodford Hall, Essex. They had one son (James Langston) and four daughters.[1]
Inheritance
Langston was probably educated at
Career
Langston was a director of the
At the next election, in 1790, he contested Bridgwater in the interest of the 4th Earl Poulett. The Earl of Egmont had funded his son Viscount Perceval to contest the seat, but Langston and Poulett's brother Vere won by a comfortable margin.[4]
Having joined the opposition, Langston was no longer acceptable to Poulett,[4] so he turned instead to Minehead,[1] where opposition was mounting to the "overbearing conduct" of the borough's patron John Fownes Luttrell,[5] whose Dunster Castle-based family had dominated the borough for most of the period since its 16th-century enfranchisement.[6] Langston bought some building land in Alcombe, within the borough, from a Quaker William Davis who had advertised for a wealthy challenger. There he rapidly built some houses to register voters, and nominated himself and his wife's brother-in-law Admiral Charles Morice Pole.[5] At the election in 1796 John Fownes Lutrell held his own seat, but Langston defeated his brother Thomas Fownes Luttrell.[1]
Luttrell rallied his support by the next election in 1802, and defeated Langston, whose illegal treating of voters after the arrival of the writ, had not been enough to win. An election petition was prepared, but after a period of negotiations, Langston sold all his Minehead interests to Fownes Luttrell.[5]
Out of
At the general election in 1806, Langston returned to Bridgwater, where he won a contested election with Vere Poulett again returned as his running-mate. However, by 1807 the earl had disowned his brother's politics, and Langston withdrew.[4]
Langston never returned to Parliament, and died in 1812, aged about 54.
References
- ^ a b c d e f Taylor, Lawrence; Thorne, R. G. (1986). R. Thorne (ed.). "LANGSTON, John (c.1758-1812), of Sarsden House, Oxon". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 11 June 2022.
- ^ Cannon, J. A. (1964). L. Namier; J. Brooke (eds.). "Sudbury 1754–1790". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754–1790. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Thorne, R. G. (1986). R. Thorne (ed.). "Bridgwater 1790–1820". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Thorne, R. G. (1986). R. Thorne (ed.). "Minehead 1790–1820". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ Jenkins, Terry (2009). D.R. Fisher (ed.). "Minehead 1820–1832". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1820–1832. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 23 May 2015.
- ^ "No. 15671". The London Gazette. 31 January 1804. p. 145.
- ^ Jupp, P. J. (1986). R. Thorne (ed.). "Portarlington 1790–1820". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790–1820. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 23 May 2015.