John Denison (born John Wilkinson; 1758?6 May 1820) was Member of Parliament for the English constituencies of

Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies to the west of the major ...

(1796-1802),

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

(1802-1806), and Minehead (1807-1812). He was the second son of John Wilkinson,

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, suc ...

at Blackwell Hall in London for Potterton, West Riding of Yorkshire, and his wife Anne Denison. His mother's brother, Robert Denison (died 1782) of

Ossington Ossington is a village in the county of Nottinghamshire, England 7 miles north of Newark-on-Trent. It is in the civil parish of Ossington, but for census purposes its population count is included with the civil parishes of Ompton and Laxton a ...

, Nottinghamshire, a woollen merchant in

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popula ...

, bequeathed to him his business interests and his estates in County Durham,

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated Notts.) is a landlocked county in the East Midlands region of England, bordering South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. The trad ...

and

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

on condition that he adopted the surname Denison; which he did on 16 April 1785. Robert's fortune was said to have amounted to £700,000; of the order of £84 million in 2020 money. This new wealth made John a figure of considerable influence in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire. In 1788, he was reported as having little interest in politics. In 1791, he got round a clause in his uncle's will, gave up business, and settled at Ossington as a country gentleman. In 1796, he entered Parliament as MP for Wootton Bassett,

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

under the patronage of

Viscount Bolingbroke Viscount Bolingbroke is a current title in the Peerage of Great Britain created in 1712 for Henry St John. He was simultaneously made Baron St John, of Lydiard Tregoze in the County of Wilts. Since 1751, the titles are merged with the titles of ...

. He almost always voted with the government. In 1802, he was elected MP for Colchester,

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...

; a seat where "a long purse" was needed to win the support of the voters. He stood down at the 1806 election, because he had opposed the government on one issue and had lost its support. He asserted that he could have retained his seat, but that "it is rather too much to expect one to sacrifice thousands for the honour of a seat on the green benches n the House of Commons. In the 1807 election, he was elected MP for Minehead,

Somerset ( en, All The People of Somerset) , locator_map = , coordinates = , region = South West England , established_date = Ancient , established_by = , preceded_by = , origin = , lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset , lord_ ...

, under the patronage of the Luttrell family. He was inconspicuous in that Parliament. He retired from politics in 1812, and died in 1820. He married twice. (1) 5 March 1787, to Maria Charlotte (died 1794), daughter of Isaac Webb Horlock of

Ashwick Ashwick is a village in the Mendip district of Somerset, England, about three miles north of Shepton Mallet and seven miles east from Wells. It has also been a civil parish since 1826. The parish had a population of 1,352 according to the 201 ...

, Somerset; with whom he had two sons and one daughter. (2) December 1796, to Charlotte, daughter of

Samuel Estwick Samuel Estwick (c. 1736–1795) was a West India planter and British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1779 to 1795. Estwick was the third, but only surviving son of Richard Estwick of Barbados and his wife Elizabeth Rous, daughter ...

the elder; with whom he had nine sons and three daughters. His third son with Charlotte was

William Denison Sir William Thomas Denison (3 May 1804 – 19 January 1871) was Lieutenant Governor of Van Diemen's Land from 1847 to 1855, Governor of New South Wales from 1855 to 1861, and Governor of Madras from 1861 to 1866. According to Percival S ...

(1804-1871), colonial administrator. He was the father-in-law of

Charles Manners-Sutton Charles Manners-Sutton (17 February 1755 – 21 July 1828; called Charles Manners before 1762) was a bishop in the Church of England who served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1805 to 1828. Life Manners-Sutton was the fourth son of Lord G ...

and the father of

Viscount Ossington A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

, who both became

Speaker of the House of Commons Speaker of the House of Commons is a political leadership position found in countries that have a House of Commons, where the membership of the body elects a speaker to lead its proceedings. Systems that have such a position include: * Speaker of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Denison, John 1750s births Year of birth missing Place of birth missing 1820 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1807–1812