John Bennet, 1st Baron Ossulston (1616 – 11 February 1695) was an English 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 1663 to 1679. He was created Baron Ossulston in 1682.

Life

Bennet was the eldest son of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, Harlington,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

and his wife Dorothy Crofts. He was baptised on 5 July 1616. History of Parliament Online - Bennet, John
/ref> He matriculated at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

on 24 April 1635, aged about 17 and was a student of

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1636. 'Alumni Oxonienses, 1500-1714: Bennell-Bloye', Alumni Oxonienses 1500-1714 (1891), pp. 106-141. Date accessed: 17 June 2012
/ref> In 1658, he succeeded his father to the estate of Dawley in Harlington. He was made a

Knight of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved bathing (as a symbol of purification) as one ...

on 23 April 1661 at the coronation of Charles II and was Lieutenant of the

Gentlemen Pensioners His Majesty's Body Guard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms is a bodyguard to the British Monarch. Until 17 March 1834, they were known as The Honourable Band of Gentlemen Pensioners. Formation The corps was formed as the Troop of G ...

. In 1663 Bennet 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 Wallingford in a by-election to 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 ...

. He owed a lot of his influence to his brother,

Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington Henry Bennet, 1st Earl of Arlington, KG, PC (1618 – 28 July 1685) was an English statesman. Background and early life He was the son of Sir John Bennet of Dawley, Middlesex, by Dorothy, daughter of Sir John Crofts of Little Saxham, Suff ...

. He was created Lord Ossulston, Baron Ossulston on 24 November 1682. Ossulston is the name of a hundred of the ceremonial county of Middlesex. His wife,

Bridget Bridget is an Irish language, Irish female name derived from the Goidelic languages, Gaelic noun ''brígh'', meaning "power, strength, vigor, virtue". An alternate meaning of the name is "exalted one". Its popularity, especially in Ireland, is la ...

, was a noted book collector. He supported the

Glorious Revolution The Glorious Revolution; gd, Rèabhlaid Ghlòrmhor; cy, Chwyldro Gogoneddus , also known as the ''Glorieuze Overtocht'' or ''Glorious Crossing'' in the Netherlands, is the sequence of events leading to the deposition of King James II and ...

of 1688 and signed the petition for a free Parliament and the declaration to the Prince of Orange, but was reckoned among the opposition peers in 1690. Lord Ossulton died at the age of about 78 and was buried at Harlington.

Family

Bennet was married twice, first to Elizabeth, widow of

Edmund Sheffield, 2nd Earl of Mulgrave Edmund Sheffield, 2nd Earl of Mulgrave (December 161124 August 1658) was an English peer who supported the Parliamentary cause during the English Civil War period. His father was Sir John Sheffield (drowned in 1614), heir to Lord Sheffield, and h ...

and daughter of

Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex Lionel Cranfield, 1st Earl of Middlesex (1575 – 6 August 1645) was an English merchant and politician. He sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1622 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Cranfield. Life He was the second son ...

and his wife Elizabeth Shepherd. They had no children. His second wife was Bridget Howe, daughter of John Grubham Howe of Langar and his wife Annabella Scrope, daughter of

Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland Emanuel Scrope, 1st Earl of Sunderland, 11th Baron Scrope of Bolton (1 August 1584 – 30 May 1630) was an English nobleman. He was Lord President of the King's Council in the North. Family He was the only child of Thomas Scrope, 10th Baron Scro ...

. They had two children

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*k ...

, who was given the title

Earl of Tankerville Earl of Tankerville is a noble title drawn from Tancarville in Normandy. The title has been created three times: twice in the Peerage of England, and once (in 1714) in the Peerage of Great Britain for Charles Bennet, 2nd Baron Ossulston. His f ...

and Annabella (1682–1698). Bridget was notable as a collector of books.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ossulston, John Bennet, 1st Baron 1618 births 1695 deaths Barons in the Peerage of England Peers of England created by Charles II Alumni of Pembroke College, Oxford Members of Gray's Inn Knights of the Bath English MPs 1661–1679