Sir Thomas Scawen (c. 1650 – 22 September 1730) was a British 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 ...

between 1708 and 1722. He was

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...

from 1721 to 1723.

Early life

Scawen was a younger son of

Robert Scawen Robert Scawen (c. May 1602–1670) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of England, House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1670. He supported the Roundheads, Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Scawen ...

Horton, Buckinghamshire Horton is a hamlet in the parish of Ivinghoe, in Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the civil parish of Slapton. The name '' Horton'' is a common one in England. It derives from Old English ''horu'' 'dirt' and ''tūn'' 'settlement, farm, es ...

and his wife Catherine Alsop, daughter of Cavendish Alsop, merchant of London. He married Martha Wessell, the daughter of Abraham Wessell, a London merchant, on 8 September 1691.

Career

Like his brother

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, Scawen was a successful London merchant. He was an Apprentice of the Fishmongers’ Company in 1671, a freeman in 1679, and a liveryman in 1685. In 1699 he was a member of the Russia Company. He was an assistant at the Fishmonger's Company in 1704 and was a director of the Bank of England from 1705 to 1719. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

he was returned unopposed as Whig Member of Parliament for

Grampound Grampound () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Grampound with Creed, in the Cornwall (district), Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and ...

. He was also Prime Warden of the Fishmongers’ Company from 1708 to 1710. In Parliament, he supported the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709, and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He did not stand at the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

. On 29 January 1712, he was elected an alderman for Cornhill, London. He was knighted on 25 September 1714. At the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...

, Scawen was elected MP for

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 ...

. From 1719, he was a Director of the Bank of England until 1721 when he became Governor of the Bank of England. In 1722 he inherited the manor of Horton from his brother William. The remainder of William's estates passed to Thomas's eldest son, also

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

. From 1723 to his death, Scawen was a Deputy Governor.

Death and legacy

Scawen died on 22 September 1730 at Carshalton and was buried at Horton, Buckinghamshire. He and his wife had five sons and four daughters. He left Horton to his eldest son, Thomas, who married a daughter of Hon. James Russell, and was the father of James Scawen, MP for Surrey. The remainder of his properties went to his younger sons. His daughter Catherine married

Sir John Shelley, 4th Baronet Sir John Shelley 4th Baronet (5 March 1692 – 6 September 1771) of Mitchelgrove, Sussex, was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1727 and 1747. Shelley was the eldest son of Sir John Shelley, 3rd Baronet and his ...

and other daughters married John Trenchard and Sir Nathaniel Mead.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scawen, Thomas Year of birth unknown 1730 deaths 18th-century British merchants Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1715–1722 Deputy governors of the Bank of England Governors of the Bank of England Year of birth uncertain Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for the City of London