![Bonnie Willie](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Bonnie_Willie.jpg)
Sir William Curtis, Bt. (25 January 1752 – 18 January 1829)
was an English businessman, banker and politician. Although he had a long political and business career (the two significantly intertwined), he was probably best known for the banquets he hosted.
Life
Born in
Wapping
Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
,
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, Curtis was the son of a
sea biscuit manufacturer, Joseph Curtis, and his wife Mary Tennant. The family business was making ship's biscuit and other dry provisions for the Royal Navy. They were also shipowners whose vessels carried convicts to Australia and engaged in South Sea whaling.
A lifelong
Tory
A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...
, he was elected as a
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 the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
at the
1790 general election. He held the seat continuously for 28 years until his defeat at the
1818 general election.
He was returned to the Commons in February 1819 at a by-election for
Bletchingley
Bletchingley (historically "Blechingley") is a village in Surrey, England. It is on the A25 road to the east of Redhill, Surrey, Redhill and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with Middle Ages, medieval buildings and is mostly on a ...
, and at the
1820 general election he was returned again for the
City of London
The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London fr ...
.
He did not contest London again at the
1826 election,
when he was returned for
Hastings
Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west ...
.
[Stooks Smith, page 338] He resigned that seat later the same year.
Curtis was also
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...
of the city, becoming
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 ...
in 1788 and
Lord Mayor in 1795–96. He was known for the lavish banquets he gave at his estate,
Cullands Grove
Cullands Grove, also known as Cannon's, was a country house and estate in Southgate, Middlesex. It was built on an area of woodland formerly known as Gullands Grove. Cullands Grove was known for the lavish banquets held there by Sir William Cur ...
. He was created a
Baronet of Cullonds Grove in 1802.
Curtis died in 1829. His estate sale ran for a week, and included 370 dozen bottles of wine,
port
A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...
,
claret
Bordeaux wine ( oc, vin de Bordèu, french: vin de Bordeaux) is produced in the Bordeaux region of southwest France, around the city of Bordeaux, on the Garonne River. To the north of the city the Dordogne River joins the Garonne forming the ...
,
East India Madeira,
sherry
Sherry ( es, jerez ) is a fortified wine made from white grapes that are grown near the city of Jerez de la Frontera in Andalusia, Spain. Sherry is produced in a variety of styles made primarily from the Palomino grape, ranging from light versi ...
(Wild's),
Malaga,
Hock
Hock may refer to:
Common meanings:
* Hock (wine), a type of wine
* Hock (anatomy), part of an animal's leg
* To leave an item with a pawnbroker
People:
* Hock (surname)
* Richard "Hock" Walsh (1948-1999), Canadian blues singer
Other uses:
* A t ...
, and
beer
Beer is one of the oldest and the most widely consumed type of alcoholic drink in the world, and the third most popular drink overall after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of starches, mainly derived from ce ...
.
[Newby, Herbert W. (1949) ''"Old" Southgate''. London: T. Grove. pp. 17–29.]
See also
*
Lady Penrhyn
''Lady Penrhyn'' was built on the River Thames in 1786 as a slave ship.
''Lady Penrhyn'' was designed as a two-deck ship for use in the Atlantic slave trade, with a capacity of 275 slaves. She was part-owned by William Compton Sever, who serve ...
, a ship part-owned by Curtis that carried convicts in the
First Fleet
The First Fleet was a fleet of 11 ships that brought the first European and African settlers to Australia. It was made up of two Royal Navy vessels, three store ships and six convict transports. On 13 May 1787 the fleet under the command ...
to
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
in 1788.
*
Curtis Island, New Zealand
Curtis Island is an island in the southwest Pacific. It is a volcanic island which, together with neighbouring Cheeseman Island, belongs to the Kermadec Islands, an outlying island group of New Zealand. It is a volcanic island with a fumarolic ...
, one of the
Kermadec Islands
The Kermadec Islands ( mi, Rangitāhua) are a subtropical island arc in the South Pacific Ocean northeast of New Zealand's North Island, and a similar distance southwest of Tonga. The islands are part of New Zealand. They are in total are ...
named after Curtis by the ''Lady Penryn''.
*
Butterworth Squadron Butterworth may refer to:
Places
* Butterworth (ancient township), a former township centred on Milnrow, in the then Parish of Rochdale, England, United Kingdom
* Butterworth, Eastern Cape, now also known as Gcuwa, a town located in South Africa
...
, a whaling and
maritime fur trading
The maritime fur trade was a ship-based fur trade system that focused on acquiring furs of sea otters and other animals from the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast and natives of Alaska. The furs were mostly sold in China in ...
expedition to the Pacific Ocean in 1792, of which Curtis was a principal investor.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, William
1752 births
1829 deaths
People from Wapping
Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom
Sheriffs of the City of London
18th-century lord mayors of London
18th-century English politicians
19th-century English politicians
Tory MPs (pre-1834)
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1790–1796
British MPs 1796–1800
Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies
UK MPs 1801–1802
UK MPs 1802–1806
UK MPs 1806–1807
UK MPs 1807–1812
UK MPs 1812–1818
UK MPs 1818–1820
UK MPs 1820–1826
UK MPs 1826–1830
British people in whaling
British slave owners