Sir John Goodricke, 5th Baronet (1708–1789), was a British diplomat 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 ...

between 1774 and 1789.

Early life

Goodricke was the son of Sir Henry Goodricke, 4th Baronet of Ribston Hall and his wife Mary Jenkyns daughter of Tobias Jenkyns of Grimston and was born on 20 May 1708. In 1725, he entered

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge or Oxford. ...

. He married Mary Benson, illegitimate daughter of

Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley Robert Benson, 1st Baron Bingley, (c. 16769 April 1731), of Red Hall, near Wakefield, Bramham Hall, Yorkshire and Queen Street, Westminster was an English Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1702 until 1713 wh ...

on 28 September 1731. He succeeded his father in the

baronetcy 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 ...

on 21 July 1738.

Diplomatic career

Goodricke became a diplomat. He was resident at the court of Brussels in 1750 although he did not go there. In 1758 he was appointed minister to Sweden, but remained at Copenhagen until he was admitted to Sweden in April 1764, and was there as envoy from 1764 to 1773. He relinquished his Stockholm appointment in 1773 when he inherited a life interest in the

Bramham Park Bramham Park is a Grade I listed 18th-century country house in Bramham, between Leeds and Wetherby, in West Yorkshire, England. The house, constructed of magnesian limestone ashlar with stone slate roofs in a classical style, is built to a li ...

estate from his wife's brother in law George Fox Lane.

Political career

In the 1774 general election Goodricke 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 o ...

for

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wak ...

but did not stand again in 1780. In a by-election in 1787 he was elected MP for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

which he held until his death in 1789.

Fraud victim

Shortly before his death, Goodricke was the victim of a fraudulent transaction at his bank Hoare's Bank. A young man tendered a Bill of Exchange signed “J Goodricke”. The clerk was suspicious, but the drawer was familiar and it was thought possible that Goodricke's signature may have been affected by gout. The bill was subsequently proved to be a forgery and in the meantime a couple had opened an account using the money at another bank. When a woman arrived at that bank with a draft on the new account she was detained and her partner was discovered by the

Bow Street Runners The Bow Street Runners were the law enforcement officers of the Bow Street Magistrates' Court in the City of Westminster. They have been called London's first professional police force. The force originally numbered six men and was founded in ...

in a waiting carriage. The young man was quickly brought before the Bow Street magistrate, but Goodricke was surprised to discover he was the son of one of his gardeners in Yorkshire for whom he had procured a post at India House and given a sum of money. The felon became insane and died in Newgate Prison while awaiting trial on 2 August 1789.

Later life and legacy

Goodricke died on 3 August 1789 the day after the felon who tried to cheat him. He had one son and two daughters. His son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

was MP for Lymington, but predeceased him. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson Henry.

References