John Benbow (1768–24 February 1855) was a Conservative politician who represented

Dudley Dudley is a large market town and administrative centre in the county of West Midlands, England, southeast of Wolverhampton and northwest of Birmingham. Historically an exclave of Worcestershire, the town is the administrative centre of the ...

in the UK Parliament in the nineteenth century. He won his seat in 1844 and served until his death in 1855.

Biography

John Benbow was born in 1768. In 1805 it was recorded that he was a solicitor practising at

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 ...

, London. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Charles Bradley and together they had two sons and three daughters. Elizabeth died in 1825. In 1833, Benbow was appointed as joint executor and trustee of the estates of the late

John Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley John William Ward, 1st Earl of Dudley, PC, FRS (9 August 1781 – 6 March 1833), known as the Honourable John Ward from 1788 to 1823 and as the 4th Viscount Dudley and Ward from 1823 to 1827, was a British politician and slave holder. He serve ...

. The estates included

Himley Hall Himley Hall is an early 17th-century country house situated in Staffordshire, England. It is situated in the south of the county in the small village of Himley, near to the town of Dudley and the city of Wolverhampton. Himley Hall is a Grade I ...

and the ruins of

Dudley Castle Dudley Castle is a ruined fortification in the town of Dudley, West Midlands, England. Originally a wooden motte and bailey castle built soon after the Norman Conquest, it was rebuilt as a stone fortification during the twelfth century but subs ...

as well as land and industries in the Dudley area. In 1837, he stood unsuccessfully as member of parliament for

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunian ...

. Subsequently, when the sitting MP for

Thomas Hawkes Thomas Hawkes was an English protestant martyr who burned to death in 1555 during the Marian Persecutions rather than allow his son to be baptised into the Roman Catholic Church. Responding to Edmund Bonner, the Bishop of London, who urged him t ...

resigned his seat in 1844, John Benbow, then a solicitor with the London firm, Messrs Benbow and Tucker, stood and won the election as a

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

candidate. The defeated candidate was the anti-corn law candidate, William Rawson. When

Lord Ward Lord is an appellation for a person or deity who has authority, control, or power over others, acting as a master, chief, or ruler. The appellation can also denote certain persons who hold a title of the peerage in the United Kingdom, or are ...

came into his inheritance in 1845, Benbow was appointed sole manager and auditor. Benbow was subsequently re-elected in 1847 (unopposed) and 1852. According to local chronicler C.F.G Clarke: ''Mr. Benbow was a decided Tory in politics, and a churchman in religion; his school of thought was narrow and contracted, and he looked upon all reforms and progressions with alarm and distrust.'' The same author wrote: ''he secured and maintained his seat as M.P. for Dudley entirely on the sufferance of the Castle power and influence''. According to Hansard, he never spoke in Parliament during the time he was MP for Dudley. John Benbow died on 24 February 1855, at

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...

, whilst still MP for Dudley, triggering a by-election that was won by

Sir Stafford Northcote Stafford Henry Northcote, 1st Earl of Iddesleigh (27 October 1818 – 12 January 1887), known as Sir Stafford Northcote, Bt from 1851 to 1885, was a British Conservative politician. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer between 1874 and 18 ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Benbow, John 1768 births 1855 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857