John Richmond Webb (1721 – 15 January 1766), of

Biddesden Ludgershall ( , with a hard g) is a town and civil parish north east of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is on the A342 road between Devizes and Andover. The parish includes Faberstown which is contiguous with Ludgershall, and the hamlet o ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...

, was an English lawyer who served briefly as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

and as a

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peopl ...

judge. Webb was the eldest son of General John Richmond Webb by his second marriage. He was admitted as a member of Lincoln's Inn in 1739 and was called to the bar in 1745; he became a

bencher A bencher or Master of the Bench is a senior member of an Inn of Court in England and Wales or the Inns of Court in Northern Ireland, or the Honorable Society of King's Inns in Ireland. Benchers hold office for life once elected. A bencher ca ...

of his inn in 1762. In 1761 he was elected to Parliament as member for

Bossiney Bossiney ( kw, Boskyny, meaning ''Cyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 t ...

, and was a supporter of The Earl of Bute until his death five years later. In December 1764 he was appointed a judge on the

Brecon Brecon (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the coun ...

circuit, which Prime Minister Grenville later cited as an example of the favour that the Grenville government showed to Bute's friends. He had an illegitimate daughter. In 1738 he inherited Biddesden House and its estate, in Ludgershall parish on the Wiltshire-Hampshire border, from his half-brother Borlace Richmond Webb. He died unmarried, and is buried in the undercroft of Lincoln's Inn Chapel. His estate passed to his sister Frances (d.1777).

References

* * ''Dictionary of National Biography'' 1721 births 1766 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bossiney Tory MPs (pre-1834) British MPs 1761–1768 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub