Sir Charles Gounter Nicoll KB (1704–24 November 1733), of

Racton Racton is a hamlet in the Chichester district of West Sussex, England. It lies on the B2147 road 2.1 miles (3.4 km) northeast of Emsworth and within the civil parish of Stoughton. The hamlet lies along the River Ems. 0.4 miles north of th ...

, Sussex, 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. ...

from 1729 to 1733. Gounter Nicoll, born Gounter was baptised on 7 October 1704, the eldest son of

George Gounter George Gounter or Gunter (c. 1646 – 1718) of Racton, Sussex, was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1685. Gounter was returned as Member of Parliament for Chichester Chichester () is a City status in the United Kin ...

, MP of Racton, and his wife Judith Nicoll, daughter of Richard Nicoll of Norbiton Place, Surrey. His grandfather, Colonel George Gounter, helped Charles II to escape from England after the battle of Worcester. Gounter succeeded his father to Racton in 1718. He matriculated at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

on 4 April 1722, aged 17.As Nicholl. In 1726, he changed his name by an Act of Parliament, adopting the surname of Nicoll, according to the

deed of settlement In corporate governance, a company's articles of association (AoA, called articles of incorporation in some jurisdictions) is a document which, along with the memorandum of association (in cases where it exists) form the company's constituti ...

of William Nicoll. He married Elizabeth Blundell, daughter of William Blundell of Basingstoke, Hampshire, whose mother Alice Blunden was the alleged victim of a notorious premature burial. Gounter Nicoll 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 of ...

for

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire until 1 ...

at a by-election on 29 January 1729. He voted with the government and was knighted as

Knight of the Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

on 30 June 1732. Gounter Nicoll died on 24 November 1733, having had two daughters Elizabeth, and Frances Catherine and was buried in St Peter's Church in Racton. His widow prosecuted a journalist, soon after her husband's death, for defaming him for accepting KB. The cost of the prosecution was met from secret service funds. In 1735 she married Lord Lindsey, 3rd Duke of Ancaster with £70,000. Gounter Nicoll's daughter Frances Catherine married

William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 2nd Earl of Dartmouth, PC, FRS (20 June 1731 – 15 July 1801), styled as Viscount Lewisham from 1732 to 1750, was a British statesman who is most remembered as the namesake of Dartmouth College. Background Dartmouth was the so ...

with £100,000 in 1755. Gounter Nicoll's last will and testament of 13 April 1731 names his mother as Judith Gounter, his sister Katharine as married to Sir Henry Maynard, nephew William Maynard, his Aunt Nicoll, and his Uncle William Wither and Wither's wife.Last Will and Testament of the Honourable Sir Charles Gounter Nicoll
accessed December 2017 (via ancestry.com, a paid subscription site).

References

Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734 1704 births 1733 deaths {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub