Charles Mellish (6 July 1737 – 29 December 1796) was a British lawyer and 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 1774 to 1784.

Early life

Mellish was born in 1737 in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, England. He was the only surviving son of William Mellish, MP, of Blyth,

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

, and his first wife, Kitty da Costa. He entered Lincoln's Inn in 1761 and was called to the Bar in 1766. He inherited Blyth Hall, Nottinghamshire on the death of his father in 1791.

Career

Mellish was

Recorder Recorder or The Recorder may refer to: Newspapers * ''Indianapolis Recorder'', a weekly newspaper * ''The Recorder'' (Massachusetts newspaper), a daily newspaper published in Greenfield, Massachusetts, US * ''The Recorder'' (Port Pirie), a news ...

of Newark, Nottinghamshire from 1770 to 1777, and again from 1779 to 1794. He was Commissioner of

Stamps Stamp or Stamps or Stamping may refer to: Official documents and related impressions * Postage stamp, used to indicate prepayment of fees for public mail * Ration stamp, indicating the right to rationed goods * Revenue stamp, used on documents to ...

from 1793 to 1796. Mellish managed the Yorkshire estates of

Viscount Galway Viscount Galway is a title that has been created once in the Peerage of England and thrice in the Peerage of Ireland. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1628 in favour of Richard Burke, 4th Earl of Clanricarde. He was made Earl ...

, with whom he was connected by marriageNote: his half-sister had married the 2nd Viscount Galway and was thereby eligible to be, and was elected 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

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

in the 1774 general election. In the 1780 general election Mellish was placed by the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle ...

as MP for Aldborough, Yorkshire. Initially a loyal supporter in Parliament of Newcastle and

Lord North Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford (13 April 17325 August 1792), better known by his courtesy title Lord North, which he used from 1752 to 1790, was 12th Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1770 to 1782. He led Great Britain through most o ...

, his political career ended in 1784 when he had a disagreement with Newcastle and was asked to resign his seat. Mellish did not stand in the 1784 general election, and stood unsuccessfully for Pontefract in

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took ...

. His will, proved in 1798, bequeaths an annuity of £100 pa from the Iter Boreale estate in Jamaica. This was a plantation producing sugar and rum which held 278 enslaved people in 180
Legacies of British Slave Ownership

Personal interests and family life

Mellish was interested in antiquarian study, particularly in the history of Nottinghamshire. He was working on an unfinished county history at the time of his death in late 1796. Mellish married Judith Stapleton (died 1806) with whom he had two sons and two daughters. Eventually, Mellish disinherited his elder son, Joseph Charles, due to the latter's extravagance. The Blyth estate passed to his second son, Henry Francis, who lost it due to gambling. The neighbouring property, known as

Hodsock Priory Hodsock Priory is an English country house in Hodsock, Nottinghamshire, north of Worksop, England, and south of Blyth. Despite its name, it is not and never has been a priory. Hodsock is renowned for its snowdrops in early spring. It is also ...

, and which Mellish had also owned, ended up in the hands of his oldest daughter, Anne, who rebuilt the house there.

References

Google Books- The House of Commons: 1660 - 1690 ; 3, Members M - Y
1737 births 1797 deaths Members of Lincoln's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Charles Da Costa family {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub