Peter Taylor (1714–1777) was a British administrator and politician who made a fortune as paymaster during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754� ...

and 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 1765 and 1777. Taylor was the second son of Robert Taylor, a grocer of Wells, Somerset and was born on 11 November 1714. In 1728 he was apprenticed to Charles Lewis, a goldsmith of Wincanton, Somerset. He married Jane Holt, probably at the non-conformist Somerset House chapel, on 22 April 1740. In 1755 he was a silversmith at Cecil Street on the Strand, London. By 1756 he knew politicians Henry Fox and

John Calcraft John Calcraft the Elder (1726 – 23 August 1772), of Rempstone in Dorset and Ingress in Kent, was an English army agent and politician. Business career The son of an attorney who was Town Clerk of Grantham, Calcraft set out on a career as an ...

and was making himself useful to Fox. When the

broke out in 1757 he was appointed Deputy Paymaster in Germany where he spent five years. He was at times dealing with £150,000 a month and questions were raised about his conduct. He returned to England in 1763 with poor reputation but possessing a large fortune. He acquired an estate at Burcott, near Wells, and in 1764 another at

Purbrook Park Purbrook Park School is a comprehensive co-educational secondary school situated in Purbrook, north of Portsmouth, Hampshire. The school has an enrollment number of 840 pupils, aged 11 through to 16. It became a trust school in April 2009. Ofst ...

, near Portsmouth. There he considerably improved the land and built an “elegant mansion” designed by

Sir Robert Taylor Sir Robert Taylor (1714–1788) was an English architect and sculptor who worked in London and the south of England. Early life Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonemason and sculptor, ...

in about 1770. He wanted a seat in Parliament but this was to crown his success rather than to do anything useful there. In 1765, when

Lord Digby Baron Digby is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of Great Britain, for members of the same family. Robert Digby, Governor of King's County, was created Baron Digby, of Geashill in t ...

the sitting Member for

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

was raised to the peerage, Taylor declared himself a candidate. The campaign lasted several months, and it became a very fierce contest. Taylor's son

Robert Paris Taylor Robert Paris Taylor (c 1741–1792) was a British administrator and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1774. Taylor was the son of Peter Taylor of Burcott, Somerset and his wife Jane Holt. Through his father's connections ...

was

High Sheriff of Somerset The office of High Sheriff of Somerset is an ancient shrievalty which has been in existence since the 11th century. Originally known as the "Sheriff of Somerset", the role was retitled on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government A ...

in 1765–6 so Taylor's party was able to take possession of the writ. Rival polls were held and Taylor 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 ...

for Wells. He was then unseated on 15 January 1766, and his petition was rejected. His opponents then created create a large number of honorary freemen, who could vote and he was defeated after another expensive contest when he stood again for Wells in

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...

. A vacancy occurred at Portsmouth in March 1774, and Taylor declared himself a candidate having gained the support of Administration. He was opposed by Joshua Iremonger, but defeated him at the by-election on 29 March 1774, and again at the 1774 general election. Taylor does not appear to have spoken in Parliament. Taylor died on 3 November 1777. He had at least one son who was alleged to have got drunk twice a day.Two children baptized to Peter and Jane Taylor at Westminster were Walter (January 1741) and Peter (September 1742) - record of baptisms

References

External links

Wikigallery The Hall at Purbrook
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Peter 1714 births 1777 deaths British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies