Philip Champion de Crespigny (1738–1803) was a British lawyer 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. ...

between 1774 and 1790. He was of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

descent, the son of Philip Champion de Crespigny (1704-1765),

proctor Proctor (a variant of ''procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another. The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts: * In law, a proctor is a historical class of lawye ...

of the

Admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offences. Admiralty courts in the United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest ...

, and his wife Anne Fonnereau, daughter of

Claude Fonnereau Claude Fonnereau (22 March 1677, La Rochelle – 5 April 1740, Hoddesdon) was a French people, French Huguenot refugee who settled in England and became a prominent merchant. He was the founding father of the Fonnereau family in England. In 1735 ...

Christchurch Mansion Christchurch Mansion is a substantial Tudor brick mansion house built in Ipswich, Suffolk by Edmund Withypoll (also written "Withipoll") around 1548–50. The Grade I listed building is located within Christchurch Park and sits by the souther ...

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

. His elder brother Claude was made a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1805. Philip Champion de Crespigny was probably educated 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 ...

in 1748, and was an advocate of

Doctors' Commons Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawyers, the society had buildi ...

in 1759. In 1768, he became King's Proctor and held the post until 1784. In

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...

, he 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 ...

for

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

on the Fonnereau interest after a contest, but lost his seat on petition. In

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 ...

, he was returned unopposed at

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

, also on the Fonnereau interest, as well as at Sudbury after a contest. He held both seats until 1781, when he lost Sudbury on petition, and continued to sit for Aldeburgh. The ''

English Chronicle ''The English Chronicle'' was a thrice-weekly evening newspaper founded in London in 1779. History and profile ''The Chronicle'' was founded in 1779 although the founders are not known. In 1781 it was given the supplementary title ''Or, Universal ...

'' wrote in 1781 that “his hauteur is so distinguished, that he is generally characterised ... by the profane, though very applicable appellation, of God Almighty”. He was returned unopposed at Aldeburgh in

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Brit ...

, but did not stand in the

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took p ...

election. He was a member of the

Whig club Whig or Whigs may refer to: Parties and factions In the British Isles * Whigs (British political party), one of two political parties in England, Great Britain, Ireland, and later the United Kingdom, from the 17th to 19th centuries ** Whiggism ...

. Champion de Crespigny was married four times: first, to Sarah, daughter of Thomas Cocksedge of

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, covering an area of , in 2015 had a population of 24,340 ...

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

, on 24 November 1762; second, in about 1771 to Betsy Hodges, who died 1772; third to Clarissa, daughter of James Brooke, on 1 July 1774 (she died on 15 May 1782); and fourth, to Dorothy, daughter of Richard Scott of

Betton Betton may refer to: Places * Betton, Ille-et-Vilaine, France * Betton, Shropshire, England * Betton-Bettonet, Savoie, France * Betton Strange Betton Strange is a hamlet in the English county of Shropshire. It is only south of Shrewsbury town ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, on 20 February 1783. His daughter Eliza married

Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian Lieutenant General Richard Hussey Vivian, 1st Baron Vivian (28 July 177520 August 1842), known as Sir Hussey Vivian from 1815 to 1828 and Sir Hussey Vivian, Bt, from 1828 to 1841, was a British cavalry leader from the Vivian family. Early caree ...

. He died on 1 January 1803. His obituary in ''

The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term ''magazine'' (from the French ''magazine'' ...

'' described him as “very much a man of fashion in his person and demeanour, full of anecdote, and with a turn for satirical humour that rendered him a very amusing companion”.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crespigny, Philip Champion 1730s births 1803 deaths British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies