Sir John Knight (24 November 1613 – 16 December 1683) was an English merchant and 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 1660 to 1681. When mayor of Bristol he became notorious for his activities against Nonconformists.

Life

Knight was born in

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

the third son of George Knight, a provision merchant of Bristol and his wife and his wife Anne Dyos, daughter of William Dyos. He inherited his father's business in Temple Street, and became one of the most prosperous merchants in the city, and a prominent

High Church The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...

member of the common council. In 1660, Knight 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

in the Convention Parliament and was re-elected in 1661 for 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 ...

.History of Parliament Online - Knight, John
/ref> He was knighted on the visit of the King to Bristol on 5 September 1663. He was an alderman from 1662-1682, and served as the mayor of Bristol 1663-4; his tenure of office was distinguished by his opposition to

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

s and other religious minorities. He had their houses watched, and took measures with Guy Carleton,

bishop of Bristol A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, for their punishment. Moderates were scandalised by the mayor's rushing out of church for his Sunday recreation of hunting down Quakers, Nonconformists and Catholics. In his time as mayor over 920 people were fined for indulging in liberty of conscience. His intolerance increased over time and in 1669 he denounced the other members of the common council, including his namesake, John Knight who was mayor of Bristol in the following year, as fanatics. Knight took a prominent part in the reception of Queen

Catherine of Braganza Catherine of Braganza ( pt, Catarina de Bragança; 25 November 1638 – 31 December 1705) was List of English royal consorts, Queen of England, List of Scottish royal consorts, Scotland and Ireland during her marriage to Charles II of England, ...

in 1677. He was re-elected MP for Bristol in the two elections in 1679 to the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

Second Exclusion Parliament The Exclusion Bill Parliament was a Parliament of England during the reign of Charles II of England, named after the long saga of the Exclusion Bill. Summoned on 24 July 1679, but prorogued by the king so that it did not assemble until 21 Octob ...

s and lost his seat in 1681. In 1680, because of poor health, he resigned from the common council. In August 1680 he acted as emissary from

William Bedloe William Bedloe (20 April 165020 August 1680) was an English fraudster and Popish Plot informer. Life He was born at Chepstow in Monmouthshire. He was probably the son of Isaac Bedloe, himself the son of an Irish Army officer, and a cousin of Wi ...

, the false witness of the

Popish Plot The Popish Plot was a fictitious conspiracy invented by Titus Oates that between 1678 and 1681 gripped the Kingdoms of England and Scotland in anti-Catholic hysteria. Oates alleged that there was an extensive Catholic conspiracy to assassinate C ...

to Chief Justice North. In 1681 he was fined for an assault, and for calling several members of the common council "papists, popish dogs, jesuits, and popish devils". Knight's grave in

Chawton Chawton is a village and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. The village lies within the South Downs National Park and is famous as the home of Jane Austen for the last eight years of her life. History Chawton's re ...

is thought to be by William Bird of Oxford. Knight married Martha Cole, daughter of Thomas Cole. His cousin's son, also Sir John Knight was also MP for Bristol.Williams gives Martha Cole as his mother Anne Smith, daughter of Thomas Smith of Long Ashton Somerset as his wife and Sir John Knight (died 1718) as his son.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, John 1613 births 1683 deaths High Sheriffs of Bristol Mayors of Bristol Businesspeople from Bristol 17th-century merchants English MPs 1660 English MPs 1661–1679 English MPs 1679 English MPs 1680–1681 17th-century English businesspeople People from Chawton