Joseph Banks (6 September 1665 – 27 September 1727), of

Revesby Abbey Revesby Abbey was a Cistercian monastery near the village of Revesby in Lincolnshire, England. The abbey was founded in 1143 by William de Roumare, Earl of Lincoln, and the first monks came from Rievaulx Abbey. After the Dissolution of the Mo ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-we ...

, was an English lawyer, financial speculator 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. T ...

from 1715 to 1727. Banks was the second son of Robert Banks of Beck Hall,

Giggleswick Giggleswick, a village and civil parish in the Craven district of North Yorkshire, England, lies on the B6480 road, less than north-west of the town of Settle and divided from it by the River Ribble. It is the site of Giggleswick School. T ...

, Yorkshire and his wife Margaret Frankland, daughter of John Frankland of Rathmell, Yorkshire. He was articled to a solicitor. He married, Mary Hancock, the daughter of Rev. Rowland Hancock, a dissenting minister of Shircliffe Hall, near Sheffield, in 1689. At some time, he moved to live as a country attorney at

Scofton Scofton is a hamlet in the Bassetlaw district of northern Nottinghamshire, England. It is north west of London, north of the county town and city of Nottingham, and east of the nearest town Worksop. Having a shared modern history with nearb ...

, Nottinghamshire, where he was steward of the manors for Lady Mary Howard of Worksop. He was also agent for the Dukes of Leeds, Norfolk and Newcastle. He made a fortune and bought up estates in Nottinghamshire, and Lincolnshire where in 1711 he bought Revesby Abbey from

Henry Howard, 11th Earl of Suffolk Henry Bowes Howard, 11th Earl of Suffolk, 4th Earl of Berkshire (1686 – 21 March 1757) was an English peer. He was the son of Craven Howard and Mary Bowes. He married his full cousin Catherine Graham, daughter of Colonel James Grahme and Doroth ...

. At the 1715 general election Banks stood for

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

Great Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linc ...

where his opponent, being in debt, had promised to repay his creditors after he won. Banks pointed out that if his opponent won, he could claim privilege and default, and so offered to pay the notes of credit himself. He was elected 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 o ...

for Great Grimsby. He voted consistently with the government and his only speech was to oppose a scheme to improve navigation facilities at the rival port of Sunderland. In 1719, he bought some estates which were forfeited after the Jacobite rebellion (and which he sold back to the family later a profit), and in 1720 made a profit from

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

stock before the bubble burst but avoided a penalty because, unlike his fellow MP

Robert Chaplin Robert Chaplin (born January 17, 1968) is a Canadian artist and publisher, currently based in Vancouver. His practice includes carving gem stones, making sculptures, drawing and painting pictures, writing stories, and publishing books. He holds ...

, he had paid for them himself. At the 1722 general election he was defeated heavily at Grimsby but was returned on the Treasury interest as MP for

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and abo ...

. He did not stand at the 1727 general election. In his later days took an interest in reclamation operations at

Deeping Fen Deeping Fen is a low-lying area in the South Holland district of Lincolnshire, England, which covers approximately . It is bounded by the River Welland and the River Glen, and is extensively drained, but the efficient drainage of the land exerc ...

in Lincolnshire. Banks died shortly after leaving parliament on 27 September 1727. He had two children. His son Joseph Banks inherited his profitable estates and became an MP. His daughter married Sir Francis Whichcote, 3rd Baronet.

References

1665 births 1727 deaths People from Craven District People from East Lindsey District Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Totnes British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Great Grimsby {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub