John Radcliffe (1738–1783) was a British 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 1768 to 1783.

Biography

The Radcliffes were an old

gentry family Gentry (from Old French ''genterie'', from ''gentil'', "high-born, noble") are "well-born, genteel and well-bred people" of high social class, especially in the past. Word similar to gentle imple and decentfamilies ''Gentry'', in its widest co ...

who were seated at

Hitchin Priory Hitchin Priory in Hitchin in Hertfordshire is today a hotel built in about 1700 on the site of a Carmelites, Carmelite Priory, friary founded in 1317, which was closed in the Dissolution of the Monasteries during the reign of Henry VIII of England ...

the sixteenth century. Radcliffe inherited Hitchin Priory from his Uncle Arthur Radcliffe in 1769. He rebuilt the house in 1770-71 of plastered brick, standing about the four sides of a courtyard, which represents the old, small, cloister garth.”Hitchin: Priory church and charities”, in A History of the County of Hertford: Volume 3, ed. William Page (London, 1912), pp. 12-21. British History Online http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/herts/vol3/pp12-21 (accessed 4 October 2017) Radcliffe was the third son of John Radcliffe, a merchant trading with Turkey and his wife Anne Alcock, daughter of Lawrence Alcock of Trotton Place, Sussex. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

from 1754 to 1755. He married Lady Frances Howard, daughter of

Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle Henry Howard, 4th Earl of Carlisle KG (14 August 1694 – 3 September 1758), styled Viscount Morpeth until 1738 was a British Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1738 when he succeeded to the Peerage as Earl of Carlis ...

on 14 April 1768. When they became engaged, George Selwyn wrote about Radcliffe to Lord Carlisle on 12 January 1768 “He is very well spoke of, et le nom est assez beau”. Carlisle wrote to Selwyn, from Rome on 18 June 1768 “Everybody gives Mr. R. such a good character.”

Political

Radcliffe was put forward at the 1768 general election for

St Albans St Albans () is a cathedral city in Hertfordshire, England, east of Hemel Hempstead and west of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, Hatfield, north-west of London, south-west of Welwyn Garden City and south-east of Luton. St Albans was the first major ...

by Lord Grimston who on 21 September 1767 asked the

Duke of Newcastle Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne was a title that was created three times, once in the Peerage of England and twice in the Peerage of Great Britain. The first grant of the title was made in 1665 to William Cavendish, 1st Marquess of Newcastle u ...

to give “an intimation ... to Mr. West in favour of Mr. Radcliffe my candidate”. Lord Spencer considered running two candidates for the borough but in the event Radcliffe was returned as

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 ...

unopposed. His elections in

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...

and

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...

were also uncontested. During his first 11 years his attendance was irregular and before 8 March 1779 his name appeared in only eight out of 18 division lists.. However his name appears in 12 out of 13 division lists during the period which led to the fall of Lord North's Administration on 15 March 1782. All known votes by Radcliffe were given on the Opposition side but no speech by him is reported

Legacy

Radcliffe died on 21 December 1783, aged 45 without issue. Hitchin Priory passed to his sister Penelope who had married Sir Charles Farnaby, 3rd Baronet on 12 August 1762. Farnaby adopted the name Radcliffe.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Radcliffe, John 1738 births 1783 deaths People educated at Eton College British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies