Sir Charles Kent, 1st Baronet on:
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Sir Charles Kent, 1st Baronet (1743? – 14 March 1811) was a British landowner and MP.
He was born Charles Egleton, the only son of Sir Charles Egleton, a London merchant (
In 1762 he succeeded his mother's brother to the Fornham estate at Fornham St Genevieve, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and formally adopted the name of Kent. He employed architect
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 ...
for 1743) and his wife Sarah, the daughter of Samuel Kent, MP.
In 1762 he succeeded his mother's brother to the Fornham estate at Fornham St Genevieve, near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk and formally adopted the name of Kent. He employed architect James Wyatt
James Wyatt (3 August 1746 – 4 September 1813) was an English architect, a rival of Robert Adam in the neoclassical and neo-Gothic styles. He was elected to the Royal Academy in 1785 and was its president from 1805 to 1806.
Early life
W ...
to design and build a large new house (Fornham Hall
Fornham Hall was a large 18th-century country house near Bury St Edmunds. It was demolished in 1957.
History
The Fornham estate was bought in 1731 by Samuel Kent, a rich London grain merchant who became a local MP. Sir Charles Kent, Bt (Samuel ...
) on the site in the 1770s.
He was selected High Sheriff of Suffolk
This is a list of Sheriffs and High Sheriffs of Suffolk.
The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown and is appointed annually (in March) by the Crown. The Sheriff was originally the principal law enforcement officer in the county a ...
for 1781–82 and created a baronet in August 1782. He was elected to serve in Parliament as the MP for 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 ...
from 1784 to 1790.
He died in 1811. He had married in 1771, Mary, the daughter and coheiress of Josias Wordsworth of Wadworth, Yorkshire and Sevenscore, Kent. They had a son, Sir Charles Egleton Kent, 2nd Baronet, who succeeded him, and 3 daughters.
References
1740s births 1811 deaths Year of birth uncertain Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain High Sheriffs of Suffolk Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1784–1790 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub