John Walcot (1697–1765), of

Walcot, Shropshire Walcot is a small village in the borough of Telford and Wrekin and ceremonial county of Shropshire, England. The village is situated equidistant between Shrewsbury and Wellington. Surrounding villages include Allscott, Withington, and Wrockwa ...

, was a British Tory 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 ...

from 1727 to 1734. Walcot was baptized on 24 June 1697, the eldest son of Charles Walcot of Walcot and his second wife Anne Brydges, daughter of

James Brydges, 8th Baron Chandos James Brydges, 8th Baron Chandos (1642–1714) was an English Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire. He was the son of Sir John Brydges, 2nd Baronet and Mary Pearle. A graduate of St John's College, Oxford Brydges became 3rd Baronet, of Wilton, Here ...

of Sudeley. He matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College ( ) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by Bishop of Winchester William of Waynflete. It is one of the wealthiest Oxford colleges, as of 2022, and ...

on 16 July 1715, aged 16, and was created MA on 6 March 1720. In 1726 he succeeded to his father's estate at Walcot. He married Mary Dashwood, daughter. of

Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet ( – 4 November 1724), of St. Botolph without Bishopsgate, London, and West Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, was a British merchant, landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1713. Ea ...

MP of

West Wycombe West Wycombe is a small village and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, famed for its manor houses and its hills. It is west of High Wycombe. The historic village is largely a National Trust property and receives a large annual influx ...

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, on 15 May 1732. In 1727 Walcot purchased the manor of Bishop's Castle from his uncle, the Duke of Chandos, for £7,000, and so acquired the chief electoral interest there. He had an income of £3,000 a year, but was burdened with a debt of £22,000 and was advised by his uncle not to stand for Shropshire until he had paid off the debt. Ignoring Chandos's advice, Walcot was returned as a Tory Member of Parliament for

Shropshire Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

. He voted against the government. Although he did not stand again at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

, he continued to support his interest at

Bishop's Castle Bishop's Castle is a market town in the south west of Shropshire, England. According to the 2011 Census it had a population of 1,893. Bishop's Castle is east of the Wales–England border, about north-west of Ludlow and about south-west of ...

, which put him further into debt. By 1742 he owed over £33,000 and had to obtain a private act of Parliament, ( 15 Geo. 2. c. ''31'' ), to raise money on his wife's portion. Before the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Hen ...

he borrowed £8,500 from his banker, Samuel Child, who was standing for Bishop's Castle. By 1761, his debts had risen to over £48,000. He was forced to hide from his creditors, leaving his son and lawyer to sell his property

Walcot Hall Walcot Hall is a Grade I listed Restoration style, Carolean country house in the civil parish of Southorpe, Cambridgeshire, England. It lies 2 km (1 mile) south east of the village of Barnack. The house is now within the boundary of the Cit ...

to Lord Clive for £92,000. Walcot died in 1765 leaving two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Walcot, John 1697 births 1765 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734