John Saunders Gilliat (24 November 1829 – 11 February 1912) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

banker and

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

politician. He was the son of and Mary Anne Saunders of Fernill,

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. His father was founder J K Gilliat and Company, a

merchant bank A merchant bank is historically a bank dealing in commercial loans and investment. In modern British usage, it is the same as an investment bank. Merchant banks were the first modern banks and evolved from medieval merchants who traded in comm ...

ing company that traded in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

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.''Obituary: Mr J S Gilliat'', The Times, 16 February 1912, p. 9 He was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

and

University College, Oxford University College, formally The Master and Fellows of the College of the Great Hall of the University commonly called University College in the University of Oxford and colloquially referred to as "Univ", is a Colleges of the University of Oxf ...

. In 1860 he married Louisa Babington, daughter of Matthew Babington of Rothley and Frances Sykes, with whom he had six children. His daughter, Ida Sophia Gilliat, married George Vere Hugh Cholmondeley (b. 13 Sep 1871, d. 28 Mar 1925). In 1862 he joined the court of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

, and was

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

from 1883 to 1885, having previous served as its Deputy Governor. Gilliat's tenure as Governor occurred during the Panic of 1884. In 1886, he was elected as Conservative Member of Parliament for the Clapham constituency of

south London South London is the southern part of Greater London, England, south of the River Thames. The region consists of the Districts of England, boroughs, in whole or in part, of London Borough of Bexley, Bexley, London Borough of Bromley, Bromley, Lon ...

. In 1891 he put his name forward as Conservative candidate for the parliamentary seat of

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

, but withdrew his candidacy. He was eventually chosen to contest

Widnes Widnes ( ) is an Industrial city, industrial town in the Borough of Halton, Cheshire, England, which at the 2021–2022 United Kingdom censuses, 2021 census had a population of 62,400. Historic counties of England, Historically in Lancashire, ...

when the sitting MP, T C Edwards-Moss retired for health reasons. He held the seat until 1900. Gilliat made his home at Chorleywood,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

. He was deeply involved in the affairs of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, and was a member of the Committee For Church Defence and Church Instruction and the Bishop of St Albans's Fund as well as being one of the governors of Queen Anne's Bounty.''Ecclesiastical Intelligence'', The Times, 23 March 1907, p. 9 On his death at the age of 82 in 1912 Gilliat was the oldest member of the Court of the Bank of England.

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* 1829 births 1912 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Deputy governors of the Bank of England English bankers Governors of the Bank of England People educated at Harrow School People from Chorleywood UK MPs 1886–1892 UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 19th-century English businesspeople {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1820s-stub