The Honourable Anne Poulett (11 July 1711 – 5 July 1785) was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

for sixteen years from 1769 until his death in 1785. Poulett, the fourth son of John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett, was born on 11 July 1711. He received his unusual first name in honour of Queen Anne, who was his sponsor at his baptism. Poulett initially stood for election at

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. The town had a population of 41,276 at the 2021 census. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies along both sid ...

in the 1768 general election. At first, he was declared defeated, but the result was reversed on

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

in 1769. He was returned unopposed in the 1774 general election and headed the poll at contested elections in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

and

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

. Throughout his career he was generally a supporter of

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most of the ...

, though occasionally voting against him. In 1780, Poulett presented to St Mary's Church in

a magnificent 17th-century painting of ''The Descent from the Cross'', apparently captured when a Spanish warship was taken as a prize. The artist is unknown, although it has been controversially attributed to Murillo. The picture is now used as the altarpiece of the church. On 2 May 1785, he presented to parliament a petition from his constituents for the abolition of the slave trade, making Bridgwater the first town to submit such a petition. However, it was largely ignored. Poulett died on 5 July 1785.

References

* * Lewis Namier & John Brooke, ''The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754–1790'' (London: HMSO, 1964) * Somerset Victoria County History
online
at www.british-history.ac.uk

External links

The Poulett painting in St Mary's, Bridgwater
1711 births 1785 deaths British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female name Anna (name), Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah (given name), Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie (given name), Annie a ...

Tory members of the Parliament of Great Britain Younger sons of earls {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub