John Pitt (c.1706–1787) of Encombe House,

Dorset Dorset ( ; Archaism, archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by Somerset to the north-west, Wiltshire to the north and the north-east, Hampshire to the east, t ...

was a British MP for 35 years. He is recorded as having given one speech to Parliament. He is noted for being the first to be appointed to office of the

Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds Appointment to the position of Crown Steward and Bailiff of the Chiltern Hundreds (or the Three Hundreds of Chiltern) is a procedural device to allow members of Parliament (MPs) to resign from the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Since ...

for the purpose of resigning from parliament.

Life

John was the fourth son of George Pitt (1663–1735) MP of Strathfieldsaye and second son by his second wife née Lora Grey of Kingston Maurward nr Dorchester. He was educated at

Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

. The property enabling

George Morton Pitt George Morton Pitt (1693 – 9 February 1756) was a British politician and colonial administrator who served as the president of Fort St. George from 1730 to 1735. Fort St George George Morton hailed from the well-known Pitt family of England ...

's control of the

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district in West Yorkshire, England. It lies to the east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the ...

seat came to John Pitt (of Encombe) by remainder but he sold it in 1766. He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1775.

Elections to Parliament

Pitt was an MP in two constituencies in his lifetime. In the years 1734–47 and also between January 1748 - November 1750, he was the Member for Wareham. This seat had been held by his grandfather George Pitt (1625-1694) from 1660 to 1679.Sir Lewis Namier & John Brooke, ''The House of Commons 1754-1790 1 Survey Constituencies Appendices'', History of Parliament Trust, Secker & Warburg, London 1964 Wareham was a

parliamentary borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

in Dorset, which elected two MPs to 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 ...

. The borough contained the town of Wareham on the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome and Poo ...

, a market town close to

Poole Harbour Poole Harbour is a large natural harbour in Dorset, southern England, with the town of Poole on its shores. The harbour is a drowned valley ( ria) formed at the end of the last ice age and is the estuary of several rivers, the largest being th ...

. In 1831, the population of the borough was 1,676, and it contained 364 houses. Between 29 January 1751 - 1761, Pitt was the Member for Dorchester. Dorchester was a

parliamentary constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

centred on the town of Dorchester in Dorset. It returned two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. Between 1761–1768, Pitt was again the Member for Wareham.

Acts

A procedure to allow

resignation from the House of Commons As a constitutional convention, members of Parliament (MPs) sitting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom are not formally permitted to resign their seats. To circumvent this prohibition, MPs who wish to step down are instead appointed ...

was invented by Pitt to vacate his Wareham seat, as he wished to stand for Dorchester but could not be a candidate while still an MP. Pitt wrote to Prime Minister

Henry Pelham Henry Pelham (25 September 1694 – 6 March 1754) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1743 until his death in 1754. He was the younger brother of Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, who serv ...

in May 1750 reporting that he had been invited to stand in Dorchester, and asking for "a new mark of his Majesty's favour oenable me to do him these further services". Pelham wrote to William Pitt (the elder) indicating that he would intervene with King George II to help.'Pitt, John' in

History of Parliament The History of Parliament is a project to write a complete history of the United Kingdom Parliament and its predecessors, the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of England. The history will principally consist of a prosopography, in ...

1715–1754, vol II p. 350-1, citing Chatham Corresp. i. 53–54. On 17 January 1751 Pitt was appointed to the office of

, and was then elected unopposed for Dorchester. His one reported speech was on a petition of West Country merchants who complained of French encroachments at Newfoundland.

Political appointments

*A Lord of Trade 1744–55 *A

Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of lords commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The lords commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

November - December 1756 * Surveyor General of Woods and Forests: 1756–63, 1768–86 Kingston Maurward House - geograph

Death

He died in 1787. He had married, on 26 January 1753, Marcia daughter of Mark Anthony Morgan of Cottelstown County Sligo and they had one daughter and four sons including

William Morton Pitt William Morton Pitt, FRS (16 May 1754 – 28 February 1836) was a British Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of John Pitt of Encombe House, Dorset and educated at Queen's College, Oxford. He entered Lincoln's Inn to study law in 17 ...

of Kingston House, Dorset. His daughter, Marcia Pitt, married George James Cholmondeley (b. 22 Feb 1752, d. 5 Nov 1830), the son of Mary Woffington.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, John 1700s births 1787 deaths Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford English landowners Pitt, John Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Dorchester British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 Fellows of the Royal Society Lords of the Admiralty