Sir Joseph Eyles (c. 1690–8 February 1740), of

Bishopsgate Bishopsgate was one of the eastern gates in London's former defensive wall. The gate's name is traditionally attributed to Earconwald, who was Bishop of London in the 7th century. It was first built in Roman times and marked the beginning o ...

in the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, was an English merchant, financier and Whig 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 1722 to 1740.

Origins

He was the younger son of

Sir Francis Eyles, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Eyles, 1st Baronet (died 24 May 1716) was an English merchant who was Governor of the Bank of England and a baronet in the Baronetage of Great Britain. Biography He was the son of John Eyles, a Wiltshire wool-stapler, and the young ...

(died 1716). His elder brother was Sir John Eyles, 2nd Baronet, also a director of 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 ...

Career

He was a Turkey Merchant and held extensive commercial interests in the Mediterranean. He was a director of the

1714-17 and 1721–2, a director 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 ...

from 1717 to 1721 and a sub-governor of the London Assurance Company. At the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

, Eyles was returned as a Member of Parliament for

Devizes Devizes () is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England. It developed around Devizes Castle, an 11th-century Norman architecture, Norman castle, and received a charter in 1141. The castle was besieged during the Anarchy, a 12th-cent ...

, a

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...

controlled by his family. He voted with the Government in all recorded divisions. He was elected

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

for 1724 to 1725 and was master of the

Haberdashers' Company The Worshipful Company of Haberdashers, one of the Great Twelve City Livery Companies, is an ancient guild, merchant guild of City of London, London associated with the silk and velvet trades. History and functions The Haberdashers' Company ...

for the same period. He was knighted on 9 December 1724. 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 was returned as member for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

. He became one of the Government's financial agents, and was again a director of the Bank of England from 1730 to 1733. In July 1730, Pelham, paymaster of the forces, instructed the Treasury board that it should in future receive proposals from Sir Joseph Eyles for the remittances needed for the forces in Minorca, Gibraltar, and foreign service elsewhere. Eyles' only vote against the Government was on the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Excise officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

in 1733, which both he and his elder brother, Sir John Eyles, 2nd Baronet, opposed. He was returned as an MP for Devizes at the 1734 general election. The only speech he is known to have made was on 30 March 1739, when he seconded a motion for the repeal of the Test Act. He was an alderman of the City of London for Cheapside from 1739 to 1740. He died on 8 February 1740.

Marriage and issue

He married Sarah Jefferies, a daughter of Sir Jeffrey Jefferies, by whom he had a son and two daughters.

References

1690s births 1740 deaths People from the City of London Directors of the British East India Company Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Sheriffs of the City of London Knights Bachelor Younger sons of baronets 18th-century English merchants {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub