William John Bankes (11 December 1786 – 15 April 1855) was an English politician, explorer, Egyptologist and adventurer.
The second, but first surviving, son of
Henry Bankes
Henry Bankes (1757–1834) was an English politician and author.
Life
Bankes was the only surviving son of Henry Bankes and the great-grandson of Sir John Bankes, chief justice of the common pleas in the time of Charles I.
Bankes was educate ...
MP, he was a member of the
Bankes family
The Bankes family were prominent landed gentry in Dorset, England, for over 400 years. They owned large portions of land throughout Dorset and made significant contributions to the political history and development of the country.
Buildings
T ...
of Dorset and he had Sir
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respon ...
recase
Kingston Lacy
Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent o ...
in stone as it is today. He travelled extensively to the Near East and Egypt and made an extensive individual collection of Egyptian artefacts. His work on Egypt, though not acknowledged until the 21st century, is regarded as important. He was a good friend of
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
,
Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers (30 July 1763 – 18 December 1855) was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron. H ...
and Sir
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respon ...
. He sat as
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...
Member of Parliament (MP) for
Truro in 1810, for
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
from 1822 to 1826, for
Marlborough (the UK parliamentary constituency that his maternal grandfather, William Woodley, for whom he was named, had held from 1780 to 1784) from 1829 to 1832, and finally for
Dorset
Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...
from 1832 to 1835.
Early life and education
William Bankes was born in 1786 to Frances Woodley (1760–1823) and Henry Bankes, MP, of Kingston Lacy and
Corfe Castle in Dorset. Frances was the eldest daughter of
William Woodley (MP for
Great Bedwin and Marlborough), Governor and Captain-General of the
Leeward Islands
french: Îles-Sous-le-Vent
, image_name =
, image_caption = ''Political'' Leeward Islands. Clockwise: Antigua and Barbuda, Guadeloupe, Saint kitts and Nevis.
, image_alt =
, locator_map =
, location = Caribbean Sea North Atlantic Ocean
, co ...
(1766–1771 and 1791–1793), and his wife Frances Payne of
St Kitts. William's aunt was
Maria Banks (Woodley) Riddell, a well-known poet, who was known to be the chief benefactor of the Scottish poet
Robert Burns
Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...
. William's sister Anne Frances Bankes married
Edward Boscawen, 1st Earl of Falmouth in 1810. In 1841, on the death of her husband, Lady Falmouth returned to reside at Kingston Lacy. It was Lady Falmouth, in the absence of her brother, who was responsible for continuing the re-decoration of Kingston Lacy which had been commenced by her mother, Frances (Woodley) Bankes.
He was the second of five children and the eldest surviving son. He was educated at
Westminster School
(God Gives the Increase)
, established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560
, type = Public school Independent day and boarding school
, religion = Church of England
, head_label = Hea ...
and continued his studies at
Trinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...
where he received his BA in 1808 and his MA in 1811.
Lord Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
, a fellow student at Trinity, became his lifelong friend. Bankes sometimes accompanied
Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
in his European tours and was described by Lord Byron as the "father of all mischief".
Adventures and friendships
Bankes became interested in exploration and discovery, and had an evident passion for ancient Egypt and fine art. His extensive portfolio of notes, manuscripts and drawings produced and collected during his travels along the Nile with explorations in Egypt,
Nubia
Nubia () ( Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sud ...
, and the Near East with Giovanni Finati, whose memoirs he translated, have significant historical value and provide the only historical record of some inscriptions and monuments.
Bankes inherited
Soughton Hall in
Flintshire
, settlement_type = County
, image_skyline =
, image_alt =
, image_caption =
, image_flag =
, image_shield = Arms of Flint ...
, Wales from his great uncle, and in 1835 inherited his family's home,
Kingston Lacy
Kingston Lacy is a country house and estate near Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. It was for many years the family seat of the Bankes family who lived nearby at Corfe Castle until its destruction in the English Civil War after its incumbent o ...
. The mansion was home to Bankes for many years and still houses his vast collections of art and artefacts.
Sir
Charles Barry
Sir Charles Barry (23 May 1795 – 12 May 1860) was a British architect, best known for his role in the rebuilding of the Palace of Westminster (also known as the Houses of Parliament) in London during the mid-19th century, but also respon ...
, a renowned architect in his day, was also a long-term friend of Bankes. The two men met in 1819 at the temple of Rameses in
Abu Simbel
Abu Simbel is a historic site comprising two massive rock-cut temples in the village of Abu Simbel ( ar, أبو سمبل), Aswan Governorate, Upper Egypt, near the border with Sudan. It is situated on the western bank of Lake Nasser, about ...
, where Bankes made drawings and arranged for the transport of the bilingual
obelisk
An obelisk (; from grc, ὀβελίσκος ; diminutive of ''obelos'', " spit, nail, pointed pillar") is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape or pyramidion at the top. Originally constructed by An ...
from
Philae
; ar, فيلة; cop, ⲡⲓⲗⲁⲕ
, alternate_name =
, image = File:File, Asuán, Egipto, 2022-04-01, DD 93.jpg
, alt =
, caption = The temple of Isis from Philae at its current location on Agilkia Island in Lake Nasse ...
that may be seen in the gardens of Kingston Lacy today. Bankes had great respect for Barry's talents and Barry accomplished much of the building work on the Bankes's family properties over the years. Barry is known for his work on the
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster serves as the meeting place for both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Informally known as the Houses of Parliament, the Palace lies on the north b ...
, St. Peter's Church in
Brighton
Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London.
Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...
, the
Victoria Tower
The Victoria Tower is a square tower at the south-west end of the Palace of Westminster in London, adjacent to Black Rod's Garden on the west and Old Palace Yard on the east. At , it is slightly taller than the Elizabeth Tower (formerly known ...
and the
Westminster Bridge. His work was inspired by Italian Renaissance architecture and contributed to the improved design of Bankes' home, Kingston Lacy.
While travelling in Spain and Portugal during the
Peninsular War
The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spai ...
, Bankes served as aide-de-camp to the
Duke of Wellington
Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, (1 May 1769 – 14 September 1852) was an Anglo-Irish soldier and Tory statesman who was one of the leading military and political figures of 19th-century Britain, serving twice as prime minister ...
, who later came to Bankes' rescue when he was on trial for his imprudent lifestyle. The Duke also celebrated Bankes' successes; he performed the ceremony at Kingston Lacy when the foundation was laid for one of Bankes' most notable discoveries, the
Philae obelisk.
Bankes was an amateur architect, a careful epigrapher, and mastered the art of copying ancient inscriptions. He was very interested in Egypt and, though he was an opponent of
Champollion, in deciphering ancient
Egyptian hieroglyphs
Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1, ...
. Bankes dabbled in architecture and with the assistance of his friend Charles Barry, transformed Kingston Lacy by encasing the brick structure with stone. He collected numerous Spanish paintings, by
Murillo and others, as well as artefacts from
Ancient Egypt which are still housed at the house.
He was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society
Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the judges of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural knowledge, including mathemati ...
in March 1822.
One of his commissions for Kingston Lacy in 1853 was a set of 16 bronze tortoises from the sculptor
Carlo Marochetti
Baron Pietro Carlo Giovanni Battista Marochetti (14 January 1805 – 29 December 1867) was an Italian-born French sculptor who worked in France, Italy and Britain. He completed many public sculptures, often in a neo-classical style, plus re ...
as supporters for four decorative marble urns; their design was based on one of Bankes' pet tortoises. Four were stolen in 1992, but returned to the house in 2021.
Exile and death
Bankes was exiled from his home in England in 1841 due to homosexual activity which led him to flee, thus becoming an
outlaw
An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill th ...
, seeking refuge after being caught in compromising circumstances with a guardsman in
Green Park in London. At the time, sodomy was a grave crime in England and carried with it the death penalty – the
last executions in England for sodomy had occurred only six years earlier, in 1835.
To avoid seizure of his house by the crown, he signed Kingston Lacy over to his brother.
Even though he was unable to return to Kingston Lacy, he continued to collect from abroad, sending his collections to be displayed in his beloved home. It is believed that he secretly visited Kingston Lacy to admire his home and collections before his death in
Venice
Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...
. He was buried in the family vault in
Wimborne Minster
Wimborne Minster (often referred to as Wimborne, ) is a market town in Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town. It lies at the confluence of the River Stour and the River Allen, north of P ...
.
References
Citations
Bibliography
* R.J. Demarée with contributions by B. Leach and P.Usick. ''The Bankes Late Ramesside Papyri'' 2006. London: British Museum Press.
* Patricia Usick. ''The Adventures in Egypt and Nubia: The Travels of William John Bankes (1786–1855)''. 2002. London: British Museum Press.
*
Anne Sebba
Anne Sebba (''née'' Rubinstein, born 1951) is a British biographer, lecturer and journalist. She is the author of nine non-fiction books for adults, two biographies for children, and several introductions to reprinted classics.
Life
Anne Sebba ...
. ''The Exiled Collector: William Bankes and the Making of an English Country House'' (2004)
* Anthony Mitchell. ''Kingston Lacy'' (National Trust Guidebooks), 1994
* Bankes of Kingston Lacy archive (ref: D/BKL), including the travel papers and correspondence of William John Bankes, c1800-1818, held at the
Dorset History Centre
* Dorothy U. Seyler. The Obelisk and the Englishman: The Pioneering Discoveries of Egyptologist William Bankes. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2015. .
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bankes, William John
William John
English explorers
1786 births
1855 deaths
People from Purbeck District
LGBT politicians from England
Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Cornwall
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the University of Cambridge
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs 1820–1826
UK MPs 1826–1830
UK MPs 1830–1831
UK MPs 1832–1835
Fellows of the Royal Society
English outlaws
English expatriates in Italy
LGBT members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
18th-century LGBT people
19th-century LGBT people
Abu Simbel