John Heath (later John Duke) (c.1717–1775), of

Gittisham Gittisham is a village and civil parish in Devon near Honiton. The village is from Ottery St Mary and it has a church called St Michael. The parish is surrounded, clockwise from the north, by the parishes of Awliscombe, Honiton, Sidmouth, Ottery ...

, near Honiton, Devon, was an English politician. He was a Member (MP) of the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a new unified Kingdo ...

for

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 ...

1747–1754 and 1761–1768. He changed his surname from Heath to Duke by a 1750 Act of Parliament, as a condition of the will of his uncle Richard Duke (Richard VII Duke), at which point he inherited the Manor of Otterton in Devon. He died on 3 November 1775 without any children, and the Duke estates passed to Robert Duke of

Otterton Otterton is a village and civil parish in East Devon, England. The parish lies on the English Channel and is surrounded clockwise from the south by the parishes of East Budleigh, Bicton, Devon, Bicton, Colaton Raleigh, Newton Poppleford and Harpf ...

, another nephew of Richard Duke.

References

1717 births 1775 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Honiton British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1761–1768 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub