George Pitt JP (9 May 1625 – 27 July 1694) was an English landowner 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. ...

from 1660 to 1679.

Early life

Pitt was the eldest surviving son of Edward Pitt of Strathfieldsaye, Hampshire and his wife Rachel Morton, daughter of

Sir George Morton, 1st Baronet Sir George Morton, 1st Baronet (died 1662) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1626. Morton was the son of Sir George Morton of Milbourne St Andrew, Dorset and his wife Joan Holloway of Walton. He succeeded ...

of Milborne St. Andrew, Dorset. He succeeded to

Stratfield Saye House Stratfield Saye House is a large stately home at Stratfield Saye in the north-east of the English county of Hampshire. It has been the home of the Dukes of Wellington since 1817. Early history The line of the Roman Road the Devil's Highway ( ...

on the death of his father in 1643 and served briefly as a cornet in the Royalist army from 1643 to 1644. He travelled abroad from 1644 to 1646 and was a student of

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1652 and

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1654.

Career

In 1660, Pitt was elected

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 Wareham in the Convention Parliament, although as a Cavalier he had not been entitled to stand; in spite of his background, he was on good terms with Presbyterian and Independent members. He was made gentleman of the privy chamber in June 1660 and J.P. for Hampshire and Gloucestershire in July 1660. In August 1660 he became commissioner for assessment for Dorset until 1664 and for Hampshire until 1680. He was commissioner for oyer and terminer for Middlesex in November 1660. In 1661 he was re-elected MP for Wareham in the

Cavalier Parliament The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. It was the longest English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring for nearly 18 years of the quarter-century reign of C ...

. Pitt exploited the valuable china-clay deposits on his Purbeck estates, and, going further afield, acquired a colliery in county Durham. But he appears principally as a financier, or, as Lord Keeper Guilford, expressed it, a usurer. He was commissioner for assessment for Westminster from 1664 to 1669, J.P. for Westminster from 1665 to 1689, and commissioner for assessment for Gloucestershire and Wiltshire from 1673 to 1680. In 1674 for the sum of £2,500 he bought the post of comptroller to the

Duke of York Duke of York is a title of nobility in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. Since the 15th century, it has, when granted, usually been given to the second son of English (later British) monarchs. The equivalent title in the Scottish peerage was Du ...

, which he held until 1675, and in that year became a freeman of Portsmouth. He was J.P. for Dorset from 1680 and commissioner for assessment for Gloucestershire, Hampshire and Wiltshire from 1689 to 1690. In 1675 he formed a syndicate with

Sir William Petty Sir William Petty FRS (26 May 1623 – 16 December 1687) was an English economist, physician, scientist and philosopher. He first became prominent serving Oliver Cromwell and the Commonwealth in Ireland. He developed efficient methods to su ...

and Sir John Baber to farm the Irish revenues, but upon its defeat by a rival syndicate Pitt abused the lord treasurer in the King’s presence, ‘in most rude and indecent terms’, and was dismissed. He was promised the return of his investment of £2,500, but there is no evidence that he received it, unless perhaps in the form of an annuity which he claimed after the Revolution. Nor was he awarded the contract for the Irish revenue. Pitt was no longer regarded by Danby to be of the court party in Parliament, although the government still counted him amongst its supporters. The

Earl of Shaftesbury Earl of Shaftesbury is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1672 for Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 1st Baron Ashley, a prominent politician in the Cabal then dominating the policies of King Charles II. He had already succeeded his fa ...

marked him ‘worthy’, but in 1678 both Government and Opposition wrote him down as a member of the court party once more. His parliamentary activity began to decline before 1675, and on 13 December 1678 he was found to have departed the House without leave. Pitt was blacklisted as one of the ‘unanimous club’ of court supporters, and did not stand again for Parliament. However, the

chose him to intermediate with Shaftesbury in 1679, preferring him over another as, ‘the steadier man, and the more my friend,' but the outcome of this arrangement is obscure.

Personal life

In 1657, Pitt married Lady Jane ( Savage), widow successively of George, 6th Baron Chandos of Sudeley, and Sir William Sedley, 4th Baronet of Southfleet, Kent and daughter of

John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers John Savage, 2nd Earl Rivers (25 February 1603 – 10 October 1654) was a wealthy English nobleman, politician and Royalist from Cheshire. Family A member of the Savage family, John was the first son of Thomas Savage, 1st Viscount Savage, an ...

. They had three sons and four daughters. This marriage made Pitt absolute master of the Gloucestershire estates of the Chandos family under the will of Lady Jane's first husband, and his income was assessed at £4,000 p.a. on the Royal Oak list. Pitt died at the age of 69.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitt, George 1625 births 1694 deaths English justices of the peace English landowners Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Inner Temple English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...