John Lemon (6 November 1754 – 5 April 1814) was a British Whig

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 ...

. He was born in

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 ...

, the second son of William Lemon by his marriage to Anne, the daughter of John Willyams of

Carnanton House Carnanton House is a Georgian country house in Mawgan-in-Pydar, Cornwall, England. It stands in a wooded estate at the head of the Lanherne valley adjacent to Newquay Airport and is a Grade II* listed building. History The house was built circa ...

, and was the grandson of William Lemon the Elder (1696–1760), who had acquired a substantial estate at

Carclew Carclew House, one of Britain's lost houses, was a large Palladian country house near Mylor in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It was situated at approximately three miles north of Falmouth. Carclew House was for some generations owne ...

in 1749, and the younger brother of

Sir William Lemon, 1st Baronet Sir William Lemon, 1st Baronet (11 October 1748 – 11 December 1824) was a Member of Parliament for Cornish constituencies from 1770 to 1824, a total of 54 years. Background He was the son of William Lemon and Anne, the daughter of John Willya ...

. The young John Lemon was educated at

Truro Grammar School Truro Cathedral School was a Church of England school for boys in Truro, Cornwall. An ancient school refounded in 1549 as the Truro Grammar School, after the establishment of Truro Cathedral in the last quarter of the 19th century it was responsi ...

and later at Harrow.Stanley T. Bindoff, John S. Roskell, Lewis Namier, ''The House of Commons'' 3, (1983), p. 34: "LEMON, John (1754–1814), of Truro, Cornw. West Looe 5 Apr.-Aug. 1784 Saltash 7 May 1787-1790 Truro 1796-5 Apr. 1814 b. 6 Nov. 1754, 2nd s. of William Lemon and bro. of William Lemon (qv). educ. Harrow 1770-1." He became a

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

in the Horse Guards.Humphreys, Maggie & Evans, Robert, 1997. ''Dictionary of composers for the Church in Great Britain and Ireland''. London: Mansell. p 206 On 5 April 1814, he died unmarried in Polvellen, Cornwall.

Political career

In 1784 he was elected to 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. ...

for

West Looe West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

, a seat he held only briefly. He returned to the Commons as a member for

Saltash Saltash (Cornish: Essa) is a town and civil parish in south Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It had a population of 16,184 in 2011 census. Saltash faces the city of Plymouth over the River Tamar and is popularly known as "the Gateway to Corn ...

between 1787 and 1790. In 1796 he was able to buy from

Viscount Falmouth Viscount Falmouth is a title that has been created twice, first in the Peerage of England, and then in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first creation came in the Peerage of England in 1674 for George FitzRoy, an illegitimate son of King Ch ...

a life interest in one of the seats at the

pocket borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorat ...

Roland G. Thorne, ''The House of Commons 1790-1820'' (History of Parliament Trust, 1986), p. 87: "Falmouth seems to have allayed any such fears by selling John Lemon a life interest in the seat in 1796, Lemon being presumably acceptable to his opponents at Truro." and was duly elected for Truro that year, holding the seat until his death in 1814. On 17 January 1804 Lemon was appointed as one of the

Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

, serving for only a month. According to convention, this meant he had to give up his Parliamentary seat on appointment to the Crown Office and seek re-election to his seat at a by-election in February, at which he was re-elected.

Amateur musician and composer

Lemon was an amateur musician and composer. The ''Cathedral Psalter Chants'' (1874) included his Double Chant in G, while there is also a Chant in D. A Double Chant in F is in ''The Parish Psalter with Chants'' (1932).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lemon, John 1754 births 1814 deaths People from Truro People from Saltash People educated at Harrow School People educated at Truro Cathedral School Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for West Looe Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Saltash Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Truro Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Truro British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1796–1800 UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 Lords of the Admiralty