John Roberts MP (1712–1772) was an 18th-century British politician and

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Life

He was born in

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

in 1711 or 1712 the son of Edward Roberts the city registrar, and his wife, Elizabeth. He was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

from 1723 then studied medicine at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

from 1728. He quit Oxford without graduating around 1730 to begin tutoring the children of Henry Pelham MP. The two men became friends and Pelham then employed him as his Private Secretary a role which Roberts continued during Pelham's career as

Prime Minister of Great Britain 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 pri ...

(1743-1754). Pelham introduced him to various other political roles, many of which overlapped, allowing him multiple salaries. These included: Deputy Paymaster of

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1743 to 1761; Inspector of the Out Ports (Exports) in the London Custom House 1746 to 1762; Receiver of Quit Rents in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

1748 until death; a pension from the Irish Establishment of £800 per annum from 1754 until death; working at the Department of Trade 1761/2 and 1765–1772.From 1754 to 1756 he was paymaster to the British Secret Service (at that time mainly spying on France) under Pelham's nephew Pelham-Holles as Prime Minister. One of Catherine Pelham's achievements was to get Roberts to be the candidate for the Harwich constituency. Pelham had identified a vacancy and she obtained Prime Minister Newcastle's commitment that Roberts would be assigned the seat. However in 1761, there was a new King and

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

had his own mind for a candidate,

Charles Townshend Charles Townshend (28 August 1725 – 4 September 1767) was a British politician who held various titles in the Parliament of Great Britain. His establishment of the controversial Townshend Acts is considered one of the key causes of the Ame ...

. It is a measure of Catherine's character that Newcastle could not decide who to please and who to disappoint. Newcastle's solution was ingenious. There was one vacancy but Harwich returned two candidates. Newcastle persuaded the sitting candidate at Harwich to move elsewhere so that he could then install both Katherine's and the King's candidate in Harwich. He served as MP to

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- ...

from 1761 to 1771. During this period, in October 1765 he became involved in the debates on the troubles in the American colonies and the Stamp Tax riots, and encouraged that the worst rioters should be made example of (i.e. hung). He owned property in Harwich, Esher, Orford and London and died in London on 13 July 1772. In 1776 a monument was erected to his memory in

Poets Corner A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

the highest accolade for a British poet. The memorial lies above that of

Geoffrey Chaucer Geoffrey Chaucer (; – 25 October 1400) was an English poet, author, and civil servant best known for ''The Canterbury Tales''. He has been called the "father of English literature", or, alternatively, the "father of English poetry". He wa ...

and was sculpted by Richard Hayward.

Family

His son

John Christopher Roberts John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

(1739-1810) held various civil service roles including Secretary to the Province of

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

Artistic recognition

He was portrayed with Pelham by

John Shackleton John Shackleton (? - 14 or 16 March 1767, London) was a British painter and draughtsman who produced history paintings and portraits. His parents and origins are unknown. Output Shackleton painted several surviving portraits, for example of He ...

and a solo portrait by William Hoare

Gallery

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, John 1711 births 1772 deaths People from Chester People educated at Westminster School, London British poets Members of Parliament for Harwich Burials at Westminster Abbey