The Honourable Anne Poulett (11 July 1711 – 5 July 1785) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons for sixteen years from 1769 until his death in 1785. Poulett was the fourth son of

John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett John Poulett, 1st Earl Poulett KG (c. 1668 – 28 May 1743) was an English peer. Life Poulett was the son of John Poulett, 3rd Baron Poulett and his second wife, Susan Herbert, daughter of Philip Herbert, 5th Earl of Pembroke. He was the ...

and was born on 11 July 1711. He received his unusual first name in honour of Queen Anne, who was his sponsor at his baptism. Poulett initially stood for election at

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

in the

1768 general election The 1768 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election took plac ...

, and although he was initially declared defeated the result was reversed on petition in 1769. He was returned unopposed in the 1774 general election and headed the poll at contested elections in

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 ...

and

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

. Throughout his career he was generally a supporter of Lord North, though occasionally voting against him. In 1780 Poulett presented to St Mary's Church in

a magnificent 17th-century painting of ''The Descent from the Cross'', apparently captured when a Spanish warship was taken as a prize. The artist is unknown, although it has been controversially attributed to Murillo. The picture is now used as the altarpiece of the church. On 2 May 1785, he presented to parliament a petition from his constituents for the abolition of the slave trade, making Bridgwater the first town to submit such a petition. However, it was largely ignored. Poulett died on 5 July 1785.

References

* * Lewis Namier & John Brooke, ''The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754–1790'' (London: HMSO, 1964) * Somerset Victoria County History
online
at www.british-history.ac.uk

External links

The Poulett painting in St Mary's, Bridgwater
1711 births 1785 deaths British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Tory members of the Parliament of Great Britain Younger sons of earls {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub