Sir John Houblon (13 March 1632 – 10 January 1712) was the first
Governor of the Bank of England from 1694 to 1697.
Early life
John Houblon was the third son of James Houblon, a
London merchant, and his wife, Mary Du Quesne, daughter of
Jean Du Quesne, the younger
Jean du Quesne, the younger (1575–1612) was the son of Jean Du Quesne, the elder, a particularly well-documented Huguenot refugee from Flanders.
Of noble extraction, Jean Du Quesne the elder escaped to England during the reign of Queen Elizabeth ...
. He had nine brothers and three sisters. The Houblon family were
Huguenots from
Lille and he later became an elder in the
French Protestant Church of London in
Threadneedle Street.
His younger brother,
Abraham Houblon, was also Bank of England Governor, from 1703 to 1705. A daughter of Abraham Houblon, Anne, was married to
Henry Temple, later
Viscount Palmerston
Viscount Palmerston was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 12 March 1723 for Henry Temple, who subsequently represented East Grinstead, Bossiney and Weobley in the British House of Commons. He was made Baron Temple, of Mount T ...
, in 1703. His older brother,
James, an influential merchant and Member of Parliament for the
City of London, was also a director of the Bank of England. Four other of his brothers were prosperous merchants.
Career
He became
Sheriff of the City of London in 1689, an
Alderman from 1689 to 1712, and Master of the
Grocer's Company
The Worshipful Company of Grocers is one of the 110 Livery Companies of the City of London and ranks second in order of precedence. The Grocers' Company was established in 1345 for merchants occupied in the trade of grocer and is one of the Gr ...
from 1690 to 1691. He was
Lord Mayor in 1695.
He was a
Lord Commissioner of the Admiralty from 1694 to 1699. It was during this time, from 1694 until 1697, that he served as inaugural governor of the Bank of England. He was again a Bank of England director from 1700, and a director of the
New East India Company
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
from 1700 to 1701.
He stood as a Parliamentary candidate for the
City of London in 1701, but was defeated. Some sources state incorrectly that he was
Member of Parliament 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 ...
.
Appearance on banknotes
Houblon has been commemorated by his appearance on the reverse of Series E
£50 notes issued by the
Bank of England
The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the English Government's banker, and still one of the bankers for the Government of ...
. The notes were issued in 1994, the year of the Bank's 300th anniversary. The design includes an image of Houblon's house in
Threadneedle Street, the site of the present Bank of England building. A new £50 note was brought into circulation in 2011, featuring
James Watt
James Watt (; 30 January 1736 (19 January 1736 OS) – 25 August 1819) was a Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer, and chemist who improved on Thomas Newcomen's 1712 Newcomen steam engine with his Watt steam engine in 1776, which was fun ...
and
Matthew Boulton in place of Sir John Houblon. The Houblon note ceased to be legal tender on 30 April 2014.
Personal life
He married Mary Jurin in 1660, who came from a Flemish Protestant family and they had five sons and six daughters, but only two sons survived their father.
[Archer Houblon, Alice (1907) ]
The Houblon Family - Its Story and Times
', London: Constable, Volumes 1 & 2. They lived in a magnificent house just off
Threadneedle Street on the site later occupied by the Bank of England and he also acquired a country house at
High Ongar
High Ongar is a village and civil parish in the County of Essex, England. It is located a mile (1½ km) north-east of Chipping Ongar, 8 miles (13 km) west of Chelmsford and 6 miles (10 km) north-west of Brentwood.
The village of ...
in Essex.
References
External links
Sir John Houblon 1632-1712at the Bank of England website
''The Rulers of London 1660-1689'' J.R. Woodhead, o
British History Online
{{DEFAULTSORT:Houblon, John
1632 births
1712 deaths
English bankers
Lords of the Admiralty
Sheriffs of the City of London
17th-century lord mayors of London
Governors of the Bank of England
17th-century English businesspeople
Knights Bachelor