Lucy Knightley (1742–1791) 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. ...

between 1763 and 1784.

Early life

Knightley was the son of Valentine Knightley of

Fawsley Fawsley is a hamlet and civil parish in West Northamptonshire, England.- OS Explorer Map 207: Newport Pagnell & Northampton South (1:25 000) The population at the 2001 census was 32. At the 2011 census the population remained less than 100 an ...

, Northamptonshire and his wife Elizabeth Dummer, daughter of Edward Dummer of Swaythling, Hampshire and was born on 23 February 1742. He was educated at

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

in 1748 and 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 1755 to 1759. In 1760, he matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the mi ...

on 26 January aged 17. On the death of his father on 2 May 1754, he had succeeded to Fawsley Hall, which he developed in the 1760s by employing

Capability Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English la ...

on his gardens.

Career

He was

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respo ...

in 1770–71. Knightley was returned for

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 ...

for

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

at a by-election on 21 November 1763 on the Compton interest. During this period he is only known to have voted once in 1767. He did not stand at the 1768 general election. He is generally described in parliamentary lists as ‘country gentleman’ or ‘Tory’. In a by-election on 14 January 1773 he was returned unopposed as MP for

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

. His voting record shows him to have been very independent. He was returned for Northamptonshire unopposed in 1774 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 ...

. At the 1784 general election he declined to stand owing to ill-health. He does not appear to have spoken in the House.

Personal life

He married Catherine Dashwood, daughter of

Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet (1715–1779) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1740 to 1768. Early life He was the son of Robert Dashwood, and his grandfather from whom he inherited the baronetcy was Sir Robert D ...

on 14 April 1764. Knightley died on 28 January 1791. He and his wife Catherine had no children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knightley, Lucy 1742 births 1791 deaths People from West Northamptonshire District People educated at Rugby School People educated at Eton College Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire