John Sawbridge (1732 – 21 February 1795) was an English 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 1780. John Sawbridge Ridley

Sawbridge was the eldest son of John Sawbridge, FRS of

Olantigh Olantigh is an English house north of Wye in the civil parish of Wye with Hinxhill. The garden terraces and towered stable block were Grade II listed in 1989 and extend to , beside the Great Stour river. Garden features include a wide variety ...

and his wife Elizabeth Wanley, daughter of George Wanley. Sawbridge was elected as a

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 ...

(MP) for

Hythe Hythe, from Anglo-Saxon ''hȳð'', may refer to a landing-place, port or haven, either as an element in a toponym, such as Rotherhithe in London, or to: Places Australia * Hythe, Tasmania Canada *Hythe, Alberta, a village in Canada England * T ...

at the 1768 general election, and held the seat until 1774. He exerted himself in the House of Commons on behalf of

John Wilkes John Wilkes (17 October 1725 – 26 December 1797) was an English radical journalist and politician, as well as a magistrate, essayist and soldier. He was first elected a Member of Parliament in 1757. In the Middlesex election dispute, he fo ...

, who had been declared incapable of sitting for Middlesex. With

John Horne Tooke John Horne Tooke (25 June 1736 – 18 March 1812), known as John Horne until 1782 when he added the surname of his friend William Tooke to his own, was an England, English clergyman, politician, and Philology, philologist. Associated with radica ...

, James Townsend, Richard Oliver, and others, he helped to form the Supporters of the Bill of Rights. In local politics Sawbridge, who was a liveryman of the Framework Knitters' Company, was elected, with Townsend, as

sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

in summer 1768, and in the following year (1 July) he was elected alderman for the ward of Langbourn. During his shrievalty he five times returned Wilkes as duly elected for Middlesex, in defiance of the house, and was threatened with a bill of pains and penalties from the government. In August 1771 Junius, in secret correspondence with Wilkes, urged him to procure Sawbridge's election as lord mayor; but

Brass Crosby Brass Crosby (8 May 17251793) was an English radical lawyer, Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of the City of London. Life Brass Crosby was born in 1725 the son of Hercules Crosby, a respectable burgess of Stockton-on-Tees and his wife Mary Br ...

was reported to want re-election, and Wilkes, who had by the quarrelled with Sawbridge, refused to desert Crosby. At the election the show of hands was declared in favour of Sawbridge and Crosby, but a poll was demanded for four other candidates, Bankes, Nash, Hallifax, and Townsend. In spite of Junius's appeals, the livery returned Nash and Sawbridge to the court of aldermen. The former, the ministerial candidate, was elected Lord Mayor. At the 1774 general election Sawbridge contested two seats: he was defeated in Hythe, but was elected as one of the 4 MPs for the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...

.Stooks Smith, page 210 He was defeated in London at the general election in September 1780, but one of his successors, John Kirkman, who died on the day when the polls closed and had been returned posthumously. Sawbridge was returned without a contest at the resulting by-election in November 1780, and was re-elected in 1784 and 1790, holding the seat until his death on 21 February 1795, aged 62. However, he was less active in the parliament of 1790 and was paralysed in the last three years of his life
History of Parliament Online article. He was a

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

in 1770 and elected

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

in 1775 in succession to

. He was commissioned as

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

of the

East Kent Militia The East Kent Militia, later the 3rd Battalion, Buffs (East Kent Regiment) was an auxiliary regiment raised in Kent in South East England. From its formal creation in 1760 the regiment served in home and colonial defence in all of Britain's major ...

in 1779 and held the command until his death.

Family

Sawbridge had married firstly on 15 November 1763 Mary Diana Bridgeman, daughter of

Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet Sir Orlando Bridgeman, 2nd Baronet (27 April 1678 – 5 December 1746) was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1707 and 1738. He faked his own death in 1738 and spent the rest of his life in prison. E ...

. She died without issue in 1764 and he married secondly Anne Stephenson daughter of Sir William Stephenson. His son

Samuel Elias Sawbridge Samuel Elias Sawbridge (7 January 1769 – 27 May 1850) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons of Great Britain and then of the United Kingdom from 1796 to 1797 and again in 1807. He was the second son of John Sawbridge of Ol ...

was

for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

. * Samuel Elias Sawbridge (7 January 1769 – 27 May 1850) * Ann Sawbridge (born 20 June 1776) *Wanly Sawbridge (born 9 June 1779)''The Register of Births and Baptisms in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1761-1786''. 8 July 1779.

References

;Attribution

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sawbridge, John 1732 births 1795 deaths Sheriffs of the City of London 18th-century lord mayors of London Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Kent Militia officers