Sir John Ramsden, 3rd Baronet (1699–1769) of Byram and Longley Hall, Yorkshire, was a British landowner and Independent Whig 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. ...

from 1727 to 1754.

Early life

Ramsden was baptised on 21 March 1699, the eldest son of Sir William Ramsden, 2nd Baronet, of Byram and Longley Hall and his wife Elizabeth Lowther, daughter of

John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale, PC FRS (25 April 165510 July 1700), known as Sir John Lowther, 2nd Baronet, from 1675 to 1696, was an English politician. Early life He was born at Hackthorpe Hall, Lowther, Westmorland, the son of Col. Jo ...

. He was admitted at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

on 4 April 1718. 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 27 June 1736.

Career

At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

, Ramsden 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 of ...

for Appleby by his uncle,

Henry Lowther, 3rd Viscount Lonsdale Henry Lowther, 3rd Viscount Lonsdale, (16947 March 1751) was an English courtier and landowner. Life He was a son of John Lowther, 1st Viscount Lonsdale and Katherine Thynne. He succeeded to the Viscountcy in 1713, upon the death of his elder b ...

. He was an independent Whig and voted with the Government in 1729 on the civil list arrears, in 1733 on the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Customs officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

, and in 1734 on the repeal of the Septennial Act. He was returned 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 ...

, and voted against the government on the Spanish convention in 1739. He was considered an opposition member in 1740. He was returned again 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 was put forward though not elected for the secret committee on Walpole in 1742. However he voted against the Government on the Hanoverians in the following December and again in 1744. He was returned again at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th 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 Henr ...

and was classed as a government supporter, although he remained independent. He did not stand again in

1754 Events January–March * January 28 – Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word ''serendipity''. * February 22 – Expecting an attack by Portuguese-speaking militias in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Pla ...

Later life and legacy

Ramsden married by licence dated 8 August 1748, Margaret Bright, widow of Thomas Liddell Bright of Badsworth, Yorkshire and daughter of William Norton of Sawley, Yorkshire. They had two sons and two daughters. In 1766 he was responsible for the building of the Cloth Hall at

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

.Huddersfield Exposed. Cloth Hall, Huddersfield
/ref> He died at Byrom on 10 April 1769 and was buried at Brotherton on 17 April. He was succeeded by his son

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsden, Sir John, 3rd Baronet 1699 births 1769 deaths British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of England