John Baring (5 October 1730 – 29 January 1816) of Mount Radford House,

Exeter Exeter () is a city in Devon, South West England. It is situated on the River Exe, approximately northeast of Plymouth and southwest of Bristol. In Roman Britain, Exeter was established as the base of Legio II Augusta under the personal comm ...

, Devon, was an English merchant banker and MP.

Early life

He was the eldest son of Elizabeth Vowler and

Johann Baring Johann Baring (born 15 November 1697 in Bremen Duchies of Bremen and Verden, died 1748 in West Country, England), later anglicised to ''John Baring'', was a German-British merchant. He came to England in 1717 as an immigrant, as the apprentice ...

(1697–1748), a clothier from

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

in Germany who had settled in Exeter, where he built up a large business and obtained English citizenship, having Anglicised his name to "John". The younger John was brought up at Larkbeare, his father's country residence just outside the city of Exeter, and was educated in Geneva. He had three younger brothers, Thomas, Francis and Charles, and a sister Elizabeth. Francis became his business partner and later,

Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet (18 April 1740 – 11 September 1810) was an English merchant banker, a member of the Baring family, later becoming the first of the Baring baronets. Early life He was born at Larkbeare House near Exeter, son ...

Career

After his father's death in 1748, he inherited the large family cloth business in Exeter. Together with his younger brother Francis, he extended his commercial interests to London by setting up the partnership of John and Francis Baring, of which he was the senior partner. He soon retired from activity in London to concentrate on business in Devon, and left the running of the London business to Francis, under whose guidance it evolved into

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's List of oldest banks in continuous operation, oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 ...

. Back in Devon, Baring founded banks in

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to the west and south-west. Plymouth ...

and Exeter and entered politics. Having unsuccessfully contested

Honiton Honiton ( or ) is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 11,822 (based on mid-year estimates for the two Honiton Ward ...

, he was elected Member of Parliament for

in 1776. Baring Crescent, Exeter, developed with Regency villas 1818-1828, was named after the family. He was also appointed

Sheriff of Devon The High Sheriff of Devon is the Queen's representative for the County of Devon, a territory known as his/her bailiwick. Selected from three nominated people, they hold the office for one year. They have judicial, ceremonial and administrative f ...

for 1776. He retired from Parliament in 1802.

Personal life

Baring married Anne Parker (died 1765), the daughter of Francis Parker of

Blagdon Blagdon is a village and civil parish in the ceremonial county of Somerset, within the unitary authority of North Somerset, in England. It is located in the Mendip Hills, a recognised Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. According to the 2011 ...

in the parish of

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

in Devon, by whom he had two sons and four daughters, including: * Charlotte Baring (1763–1833), who married John Jeffrey Short (b. 1753) in 1786. Short was the son of John Short Sr. of Bickham House, Kenn, who had been in 1744 a partner with John Baring and his brother Charles in the Baring's bank in Exeter. Charlotte's eldest son was John Short (1790–1818) who died unmarried and was succeeded at Bickham by his brother Francis Baring Short.Dawes & Selwyn, p. 130. In 1755, Baring purchased for £2,100 the estate of Mount Radford in the parish of St Leonards,Dawes & Selwyn, p. 127. on the outskirts of Exeter, adjacent to his father's residence of Larkbeare. He also purchased the adjoining manors of

Heavitree Heavitree is a historic village and parish situated formerly outside the walls of the City of Exeter in Devon, England, and is today an eastern district of that city. It was formerly the first significant village outside the city on the road to ...

and Wonford. According to a contemporary report, by 1810 he also had a residence at West Teignmouth House in the parish of West Teignmouth. Swete, John, "Names of the Noblemen and Principal Gentlemen in the County of Devon, their Seats and Parishes at the Commencement of the Nineteenth Century", 1810, published in 1811 edition of Risdon, Tristram (died 1640), ''Survey of Devon'', London, 1811, with 1810 Additions. In the last year of his life he encountered financial difficulties and sold Mount Radford and his other Exeter properties to his cousin

Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet Sir Thomas Baring, 2nd Baronet (12 June 1772 – 3 April 1848), was a British banker and Member of Parliament. Early life Baring was born on 12 June 1772. A member of the Baring family, he was the eldest son of Harriet (née Herring) Baring and ...

(1772–1848), who later sold them to a commercial builder.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baring, John 1730 births 1816 deaths

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

British people of German descent English bankers High Sheriffs of Devon Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Exeter British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Exeter UK MPs 1801–1802