The Honourable John Finch (c. 1689 – 1 January 1740), of Wornedale in Borden, Kent, was an English lawyer and Tory 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 1722 to 1740. Finch was the second son of

Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford, PC, KC (22 July 1719) was an English lawyer and statesman. Early life Finch was second son of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham and the former Elizabeth Hervey (eldest daughter of Daniel Hervey). H ...

, and his wife Elizabeth Banks, daughter of

Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet Sir John Banks, 1st Baronet FRS (1627 – 18 October 1699) was an English merchant and MP, who rose from relatively humble beginnings to be one of the wealthiest merchants in London and owner of several properties. Life Banks was the son of Ca ...

. He was probably educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

on 1 April 1709, aged 19. He was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1710 and was called to the bar in 1719. On the death of his father, his brother

Heneage Finch, 2nd Earl of Aylesford Heneage Finch, 2nd Earl of Aylesford (1683–1757) was a British peer and member of the House of Lords, styled Lord Guernsey from 1714 to 1719. Origins He was the son and heir of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesford (died 1719). Career From 1 ...

alienated the manor of Wornedale to him in 1721, after an act was passed that year for the purpose. Finch married Elizabeth Savile, daughter and heiress of John Savile, of

Methley-hall Methley is a dispersed village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, south east of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is located near Rothwell, Oulton, Woodlesford, Mickletown and Allerton Bywater. The Leeds City Ward is called Kippax ...

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

on 30 April 1726. Finch was elected as Tory

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

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

on the family interest at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

. He voted consistently with the Opposition. His cousin, another John Finch, stood at Maidstone in a by-election on 1 June 1723 but was unsuccessful. At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

Finch was elected again for Maidstone in a contest. He is recorded as pairing with his cousin, Lord Perceval, on Walpole's proposed salt duty, which he opposed, in February and March 1732. He was elected again for Maidstone in a contest at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

. Finch died on 1 January 1740, leaving a son and daughter. His son

Savile Finch Savile Finch (baptised 22 September 1736 – 20 September 1788) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1757 to 1780. Finch was the only son of the Honourable John Finch, younger son of Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Aylesfor ...

also represented Maidstone in Parliament.

References

1680s births 1740 deaths Younger sons of earls Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 People from Maidstone John Finch People from the Borough of Swale {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub