Sir Christopher Hawkins, 1st Baronet
Sir Christopher Hawkins, 1st Baronet,
The Hawkins family
Christopher Hawkins was the second son of Thomas Hawkins of Trewithen, a considerable landowner and former MP for Grampound. Thomas Hawkins had a lifelong fear of smallpox and died following an inoculation to prevent it. Christopher's elder brother John was drowned in the River Thames whilst at Eton, whilst a younger brother Thomas died "of a fever in consequence of eating an ice-cream after dancing."[2] His youngest brother, John Hawkins, survived and became a noted geologist. On his father's death in 1766, Christopher inherited his estates.
Career as MP
Hawkins was appointed
He himself was MP for several of his own Cornish boroughs, namely Grampound from 1800 to 1807, Mitchell from 1784 to 1799 and again from 1806 to 1807, Penryn from 1806 to 1807 and again from 1818 to 1820, and St Ives from 1821 to 1828. His appearances in the chamber of the house were not memorable. He appears to have spoken just four times: once very briefly in 1807, when charged with bribery he left "his case entirely to the justice and liberality of the house", twice in 1819 with regard to the Penryn Bribery Bill, when, according to Hansard, he was on both occasions "quite inaudible", and once in 1827 when he was "totally inaudible".
Later scandal
Following the 1806 Penryn election, Hawkins was found guilty of bribery by a parliamentary committee and dispossessed of his seat, but unusually was not barred from the House. Since he had also been elected MP for Grampound and for Mitchell, he remained in the House of Commons, albeit under considerable censure. The
Hawkins earned himself a reputation as a miser and it was claimed that, to reduce election expenses, he pulled down the houses of electors on his land thus depriving them of the right to vote. In this way, he was said to have reduced the number of electors at Mitchell to three.[6]
Father of the House
For his loyal service to the Tory government, he was created a baronet in 1791 by William Pitt the Younger and by the time of his death had become Father of the House.[4][7]
Land and mine-owner
Sir Christopher inherited considerable estates from his father, but assiduously purchased additional land, eventually claiming that he could "ride from one side of Cornwall to the other without setting hoof on another man's soil."
He acquired the manors of
Sir Christopher obtained the post of Vice Lord Warden of the Stannaries, giving him considerable influence and control over mines and mining in Cornwall.[8]
Trewithen House and gardens
The family home of Trewithen, near Probus, was purchased by Philip Hawkins of Trewinnard in 1715 and substantially and grandly rebuilt. His nephew, Sir Christopher's father, inherited the house in 1738 and was responsible for much of its landscaping.[17] Sir Christopher, known locally as "Sir Kit", extended the grounds but added little to the house, reinforcing his reputation as a miser among his local tenants. The following verse was said to have been fixed to the gates of Trewithen:[6]
- A large house, and no cheer,
- A large park, and no deer,
- A large cellar, and no beer,
- Sir Christopher Hawkins lives here.
Trewithen House, now a
The garden at Trewithen was made by G. H. Johnstone VMH; it covers about 23 acres and is noted for its design and for the large collection of camellias, magnolias and rhododendrons.[19]
Patron of steam, horticulture, and antiquarian pursuits
Sir Christopher was a
In 1811 he published a short book entitled Observations on the Tin Trade of the Ancients in Cornwall, concerning his theories on the involvement of the
Sir Christopher was a patron and supporter of the Cornish steam pioneer Richard Trevithick and in 1812 commissioned from him the world's first steam threshing machine, powered by a "semi-portable" barn engine. The machine continued in use till the 1880s and has been preserved by the Science Museum in London.[22]
In 1813, he brought the
Sir Christopher never married. On his death, his estate passed to his youngest brother, John, and then to his nephew, Christopher Henry Thomas Hawkins.[8]
In fiction
He is a recurring character in the
References
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 1)
- ^ R. Polwhele, The History of Cornwall Vol 5, p.122 & Vol. 7, p.93 (1816)
- ^ Complete Baronetage
- ^ ISBN 0-436-52101-6
- ^ Cobbett's Weekly Political Register Vol 14(9), 1808
- ^ ISBN 0-559-59308-2
- ^ a b Obituary, Gentleman's Magazine Vol. 99(1), p. 564, 1829
- ^ a b c d [1] Archived 6 December 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ F. Hitchins & S. Drew, The History of Cornwall, vol. 2 (1824)
- ^ D. Gilbert, The parochial history of Cornwall, Vol. 3, pp 271–273 (1838)
- ^ Green, Rebecca (14 July 2004). "News". Newquayvoice.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative : NEWLYN EAST (St Agnes Area)" (PDF). Historic-cornwall.org.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ [2] Archived 31 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ J. Calvert (1853) The Gold Rocks of Great Britain & Ireland, p. 86
- ^ "Cornish Copper". Freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "Cornwall Industrial Settlements Initiative : PENTEWAN (St Austell Area)" (PDF). Historic-cornwall.org.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "Trewithen Gardens and House, Cornwall". Cornwall-calling.co.uk. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ Historic England. "Trewithen House (Grade I) (1141100)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 October 2015.
- ISBN 0-7134-0927-4; pp. 142-45
- ^ Prospectus...of the Royal Institution, p. 73, 1800
- ^ Hawkins, Sir C. (1811) Observations on the Tin Trade of the Ancients in Cornwall and on the "Ictis" of Diodorus Siculus, 80 pp.
- ^ [3] Archived 4 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ The Gardener's Magazine; Vol. 6, p. 575, 1830
- ^ "varieties". Fruitwise.net. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
- ^ "Cornish Gilliflower apple trees for sale | Order online". Keepers-nursery.co.uk. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2015.
