Sir John Heathcote, 2nd Baronet (1689 – 6 September 1759) of Normanton Park, Rutland was a British merchant and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons in two periods between 1715 and 1741. Neale(1818) p3

Heathcote was the eldest surviving son of Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet,

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional powe ...

, and his wife Hester Rayner, daughter of Christopher Rayner. He married Bridget White, daughter of Thomas White, on 5 August 1720. Heathcote was elected as a Whig

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

Grantham Grantham () is a market and industrial town in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road. It lies some 23 miles (37 km) south of the Lincoln and ...

in a contest at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

. He did not stand in

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel ''Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), as ...

. He was a Director of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

from 1716 to 1724 and a Director of the Bank of England at statutory intervals between 1725 and 1735. From 1728 to 1731, he served again as a Director of the East India Company. He succeeded to the baronetcy and Normanton Park on the death of his father on 25 January 1733. Heathcote was returned unopposed as MP for

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordere ...

at a by-election on 9 February 1733 and subsequently at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

. He voted with the Administration in every recorded division, except for the place bill in 1740. Between 1735 and 1740, he rebuilt

Normanton Hall Normanton Hall was a large, now demolished, country house at Normanton in Rutland. History Normanton was the possession of the De Normanvilles for fourteen generations following the Norman Conquest. The estate then passed in 1446 to Alice Basin ...

to the design of Henry Joynes. He was defeated at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

and then lived the life of a country gentleman, spending seven months of the year at Normanton. An attempt to obtain a parliamentary seat at Rutland in 1754 came to nothing. He was a trustee of the British Museum and president of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

. Heathcote died on 5 September 1759, aged 70 and was succeeded by his eldest son Gilbert Heathcote. His wife Bridget died on 5 May 1772. They had two sons and four daughters, of whom were: * Gilbert Heathcote, 3rd Baronet (d. 2 November 1785), married firstly Margaret Hardwicke (d. 10 August 1796), married secondly Elizabeth Hudson (d. 14 July 1813). * John Heathcote (d. 29 July 1795) married Lydia Moyer (d. 14 August 1822), they had two children. * Bridget Heathcote (d. 2 March 1805) married James Douglas 14th Earl of Morton. * Ann Heathcote married Sir Robert Hamilton 4th Baronet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcote, John, 2nd Baronet 1689 births 1759 deaths Heathcote baronets John Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bodmin British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741

See also

References