Henry Penton (1736–1812) 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. ...

for 35 years from 1761 to 1796. As the developer of his estate in North London, he became the founder of

Pentonville Pentonville is an area on the northern fringe of Central London, in the London Borough of Islington. It is located north-northeast of Charing Cross on the Inner Ring Road. Pentonville developed in the northwestern edge of the ancient parish o ...

Early life

Penton was born on 11 December 1736, the son of Henry Penton of Eastgate House Winchester and his wife Miss Simondi, daughter of the Swedish consul at Lisbon. 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 the ...

in 1748 and was admitted at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

on 13 November 1753. He subsequently undertook a

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tuto ...

Political career

In the

1761 general election The 1761 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Sco ...

Penton was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, which his father had represented since 1747. He was appointed King's letter carrier in 1761, a position he held until his death. His father died in 1762 and left him Eastgate House and his estate which included a large area in the north of London. Also on 27 November 1762, he entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. He married Anne Knowler, daughter of John Knowler of Canterbury, Kent on 3 January 1765. Penton was returned for Winchester again in

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...

and

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...

when his career was at its zenith. In December 1774 he was appointed

Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was n ...

. In 1778 he entertained George III and Queen Charlotte for two nights at Eastgate House on their visit to Winchester.'Winchester: Introduction', in A History of the County of Hampshire: Volume 5, ed. William Page (London, 1912), pp. 1–9. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/hants/vol5/pp1-9 (accessed 27 September 2017) He was also Recorder of Winchester in 1778. He was returned as MP for Winchester again 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 ...

. He spoke occasionally in Parliament and made 21 speeches between 1770 and 1782, most of them after 1774 on Admiralty business. However he was replaced at the Admiralty in April 1782 and his domestic circumstances were troubled at this time as his wife left him when she discovered his relationship with her maid. In December 1783 it was reported "Mr. Penton feels himself neglected and hurt ….. but he had formerly a wish to quit Parliament. The seat, therefore, might perhaps be got". His behaviour was becoming less reliable in parliament and he lived for many years in a comparatively secluded state. However he was returned for Winchester again in 1784 and was Recorder again in 1785. The political fixers were anxious to take hold of the seat in which he had an interest. He was returned again at Winchester in 1790. In January 1796 he had expressed a wish to retire and Portland recommended

Viscount Palmerston Viscount Palmerston was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 12 March 1723 for Henry Temple, who subsequently represented East Grinstead, Bossiney and Weobley in the British House of Commons. He was made Baron Temple, of Mount T ...

to him as meeting every requirement except ‘consanguinity’. Penton agreed and gave his health as his reason for retirement at the 1796 general election. He subsequently sold Eastgate House and estate to Sir Henry Paulet St. John Mildmay.

Pentonville

Penton owned an area of open countryside adjacent to the New Road in North London and developed a number of streets there in the 1770s. In addition to Penton Street he marked his Admiralty connection by naming a new street after Admiral Rodney. The area acquired the name of Pentonville and remained in the family for many years.'Pentonville: Introduction', in Survey of London: Volume 47, Northern Clerkenwell and Pentonville, ed. Philip Temple (London, 2008), pp. 322–338. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vol47/pp322-338 (accessed 27 September 2017)

Personal life

Penton acquired social stigma from his liaison with his wife's maid Catherine Judd of Stratford-on-Avon. His wife left him in the 1780s, having discovered the affair. He began living with Catherine, setting her up in a new house in Piccadilly. He took her to Italy, and had her taught music and languages. It was said that she had a fine voice and she sang excellently. Penton claimed an offer was made to her at Rome of £1,500 a year if she would appear upon the Italian stage. Property in Penton Street was used to secure an independent annuity for her. Five days after the death of his wife, he married Catherine, on 8 April 1808. She was already the mother of his heir Henry Penton and two daughters. Penton died at Wimpole Street on 15 January 1812. After his death Catherine married Richard Earle Welby, the son of

Sir William Earle Welby, 1st Baronet Sir William Earle Welby, 1st Baronet (c. 1734 – 6 November 1815) was a British land-owner, baronet and Member of Parliament for Grantham from 1802 to 1806. He also served as High Sheriff of Lincolnshire from 1796 to 1797. Early life William ...

References

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Penton, Henry 1736 births 1812 deaths People educated at Winchester College Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Lords of the Admiralty