John Hungerford (''c.'' 1658 – 8 June 1729) was an English lawyer and Tory politician who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between 1692 and 1729. He was legal counsel for the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, and also defended several of those accused of being Jacobites in the years following the

rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts. At Braemar, Aberdeenshire, local landowner the Earl ...

Early life

Hungerford was the eldest son of Richard Hungerford of Wiltshire and his wife Ann Price, daughter of Ellis Price of Gatcome, Isle of Wight. A claimed connection with the family of Farleigh, according to William Hardy writing in the ''

Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

'', has not been ascertained. He was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

on 7 August 1677, graduated

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

(MA) at Cambridge '' per literas regias'' in 1683 and was called to the bar in 1687. He married Mary Spooner, daughter of Abraham Spooner, vintner, of London on 5 August 1687.

Career

By 1691 Hungerford was Cursitor of Yorkshire and Westmorland, which may have helped his political ambitions. He was returned as Member of Parliament for

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

at a by-election on 28 April 1692. He was very active in Parliament and was appointed chairman of the committee of the house to whom the Orphans Bill was committed. On 23 March 1694 he received from the promoters of the bill a sum of twenty guineas "for his pains and services" in that capacity. This was discovered and his explanation was naïve and unconvincing and he was voted guilty of a ‘high crime and misdemeanour’ and expelled from the House of Commons on 26 March 1695.Hardy, p. 256 Hungerford was defeated at the

1695 English general election The 1695 English general election was the first to be held under the terms of the Triennial Act 1694, which required parliament to be dissolved and fresh elections called at least every three years. This measure helped to fuel partisan rivalry ov ...

when he tried to stand at Scarborough again and also in the second election of 1701. He was returned unopposed in the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...

, but was defeated at the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...

. However he was returned as MP for Scarborough at a by-election on 22 November 1707 and was returned unopposed at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

. In December 1709 he introduced a bill to prevent excessive gaming. As a supporter of Dr Sacheverell, he voted afaoinst his impeachment. He was returned again at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

. He was listed as a ‘Tory patriot’ who had opposed the continuation of the war, and a ‘worthy patriot’ who laid open the mismanagements of the previous administration. In 1711 he was appointed one of the commissioners of alienation. He was returned unopposed aa the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

. He continued as an active lawyer becoming a bencher of Lincoln's Inn in 1707 and Treasurer in 1713. He was a standing counsel to the East India Company and King's College, Cambridge. Hungerford was returned unopposed in the elections of

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire in ...

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel '' Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), ...

and

1727 Events January–March * January 1 – (December 21, 1726 O.S.) Spain's ambassador to Great Britain demands that the British return Gibraltar after accusing Britain of violating the terms of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. Britain ...

. He continued to be very active in parliament, particularly attacking gambling and the army and defending Roman Catholic interests. He defended three persons, Francis Francia (22 January 1717), John Matthews (1719), and Christopher Sayer (1722), who were charged with treasonable relations with the

Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until ...

. Francia was acquitted, but Matthews and Sayer were convicted.Hardy, 256. Cites

cf. The abbreviation cf. (short for either Latin or , both meaning 'compare') is generally used in writing to refer the reader to other material to make a comparison with the topic being discussed. However some sources offer differing or even contr ...

Cobbett, and Howell, ''State Trials'', xv. 965 and 1359, xvi. 233. He was appreciated in Parliament for his eloquence and his humour in defusing heated situations.

Death and legacy

Hungerford died without issue on 8 June 1729. By his will, dated 24 May 1729, and proved by his widow Mary 13 June following, he left bequests to

King's College, Cambridge King's College, formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, is a List of colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college lies beside the River Cam and faces ...

, and to many relatives.

Notes

References

*Hardy, William John. "John Hungerford".

, 1885–1900. London: Smith, Elder & Co. Volume 28, **Manuscripts of the Hon. Soc. of Lincoln's Inn; **Return of Members of Parliament; **Historical Register, 1729, p. 41; **Luttrell's Brief Kelation; **abstract of will in "writer's possession." *

Concise Dictionary of National Biography ''The Concise Dictionary of National Biography: From Earliest Times to 1985'' is a dictionary of biographies of people from the United Kingdom. It was published in three volumes by Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is ...

(1930) ;Attribute * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hungerford, John 1650s births 1729 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Politicians from Scarborough, North Yorkshire English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1702–1705 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Alumni of the University of Cambridge Members of Lincoln's Inn