John Hiley Addington (August 1759 – 11 June 1818)
was a British
Tory party
The Tories were a loosely organised political faction and later a political party, in the Parliaments of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. They first emerged during the 1679 Exclusion Crisis, when they opposed ...
politician. He served as a Member of Parliament for various constituencies between 1787 and 1818.
Background and education
Addington was the second son of
Anthony Addington
Anthony Addington (1713 – 22 March 1790) was an English physician.
Life
Born in Twyford, Addington was educated at Winchester College. He went up to Trinity College, Oxford, where he took the degree of M.A. on 13 May 1740 and of M.D. on 24 ...
and his wife Mary, daughter of Haviland John Hiley.
[Lodge (1859), p. 450] His older brother was
Henry Addington
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, (30 May 175715 February 1844) was an English Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804.
Addington is best known for obtaining the Treaty of Amiens in 1802, an ...
, who served as
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern pr ...
and under whose lifelong influence and patronisation he was. He was educated at
Cheam School
Cheam School is a mixed preparatory school located in Headley, in the civil parish of Ashford Hill with Headley in Hampshire. Originally a boys school, Cheam was founded in 1645 by George Aldrich.
History
The school started in Cheam, Surrey. ...
and then at
Winchester College
Winchester College is a public school (fee-charging independent day and boarding school) in Winchester, Hampshire, England. It was founded by William of Wykeham in 1382 and has existed in its present location ever since. It is the oldest of the ...
.
[The Annual Obituary (1819), p. 361] Addington studied in
Ealing
Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan.
Ealing was histor ...
until 1776 and afterwards at
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...
.
Political career
Addington entered the
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England.
The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...
in 1787, having been elected for
Truro
Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...
.
[Thorne (1986), p. 47] He represented the constituency until 1790 and after a break of four years was returned to Parliament for
Winchelsea
Winchelsea () is a small town in the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex, within the historic county of Sussex, England, located between the High Weald and the Romney Marsh, approximately south west of Rye and north east of Hastings. Th ...
until 1796.
In the following general election Addington stood successfully for
Wendover
Wendover is a market town and civil parish at the foot of the Chiltern Hills in Buckinghamshire, England. It is situated at the point where the main road across the Chilterns between London and Aylesbury intersects with the once important road a ...
.
He held that seat until the
Act of Union 1801
The Acts of Union 1800 (sometimes incorrectly referred to as a single 'Act of Union 1801') were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Irela ...
and then became a member of the newly established
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
.
In 1802 Addington won the election for
Bossiney, however he resigned his seat the following year.
Instead he ran for
Harwich
Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...
in a by-election, which had been triggered by the death of his predecessor.
Addington sat for the constituency for the rest of his life.
During his time as Member of Parliament, he was appointed a
Lord of the Treasury
In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of the ...
in December 1800, by the then Prime Minister
William Pitt.
In March of the following year he became a
Secretary to the Treasury
In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure ...
until 1802, when on his own request he returned to his former office.
Addington was made
Paymaster of the Forces
The Paymaster of the Forces was a position in the British government. The office was established in 1661, one year after the Restoration (1660), Restoration of the Monarchy to King Charles II, and was responsible for part of the financing of t ...
in 1803 and on this occasion was sworn of the
Privy Council
A privy council is a body that advises the head of state of a state, typically, but not always, in the context of a monarchic government. The word "privy" means "private" or "secret"; thus, a privy council was originally a committee of the mon ...
.
When in the next year his brother Henry's government failed, he was replaced as Paymaster.
In 1806, Addington joined the
Board of Control as a commissioner, however left it after a year.
[Thorne (1986), p. 48] He accepted an appointment as
Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs
This article lists past and present Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State serving the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office.
Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present
*April 1782: Evan Nepean
*April 1 ...
in 1812, retiring after a collapse in 1818.
In 1803 Addington was nominated High Steward of Harwich and lieutenant-colonel of the Mendip Volunteers.
Family and death
In 1785, Addington married Mary, daughter of Henry Unwin.
The couple had two sons and a daughter.
[Urban (1833), p. 285] Addington died at
Longford Court in 1818 from complications after an operation on his stomach.
[Urban (1818), p. 574] He was survived by his wife until 1833.
His younger son
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People
*Henry (given name)
* Henry (surname)
* Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry
Royalty
* Portuguese royalty
** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal
** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...
was a diplomat and civil servant.
The writer
Hannah More
Hannah More (2 February 1745 – 7 September 1833) was an English religious writer, philanthropist, poet and playwright in the circle of Johnson, Reynolds and Garrick, who wrote on moral and religious subjects. Born in Bristol, she taught at a s ...
was a close friend of Addington and his family.
Notes
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Addington, John Hiley
1759 births
1818 deaths
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
British MPs 1784–1790
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
People educated at Cheam School
People educated at Winchester College
Tory MPs (pre-1834)
UK MPs 1801–1802
UK MPs 1802–1806
UK MPs 1806–1807
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs 1812–1818