Ambrose Goddard (c. 1727–1815) was a British politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the 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 parliament. T ...

from 1772 to 1806. Goddard was the third son of Ambrose Goddard and his wife Elizabeth Awdry, daughter of Ambrose Awdry of Seend, Wiltshire. He was educated at

Winchester College Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of ...

from 1743 to 1745. He settled in Lisbon where he was in merchant activities and was agent for the Post Office there until 1772. On death of his elder brother in 1770, he succeeded to the family inheritance and returned to Wiltshire. He married Sarah Williams, daughter of Rev. Thomas Williams of Pilrowth, Carmarthenshire on 16 August 1776. Goddard was returned as

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 bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

at a by-election on 21 August 1772 after a hard-fought and expensive contest. He was returned unopposed in 1774 and

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...

. In 1784 he was a member of the St. Alban's Tavern group who tried to bring Fox and Pitt together. He held the seat until 1806. Goddard died on 19 June 1815. He and his wife Sarah had three sons and seven daughters; from 1788 they employed

Agnes Porter Agnes Porter (c.1752 – 1814) was a British governess known for her diaries. Life Porter was born in Edinburgh; her year of birth is uncertain but her birthday was 18 June. Her father was a member of the clergy. She was fluent in French and she ...

as governess. His son Thomas Goddard became MP for .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Goddard, Ambrose 1720s births 1815 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Wiltshire British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 UK MPs 1802–1806 Ambrose