Sir William Scawen (c. 1644 – 18 October 1722) was a British MP and Governor of the Bank of England.

Early life

Scawen was born in 1644. His father was

Robert Scawen Robert Scawen (1602–1670) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1640 and 1670. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Scawen was the second son of Robert Scawen of Molinick, ...

of Horton, Buckinghamshire.

Career

Scawen was knighted in 1692. After some years in business he was appointed a Director of 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 ...

in 1694 and again from 1699 until his death. He was elevated to Deputy Governor in 1695 and to

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

in 1697 (until 1699). He was also 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 1710 to 1712. In 1696 he had sufficient wealth to purchase a half interest in

Carshalton Carshalton () is a town, with a historic village centre, in south London, England, within the London Borough of Sutton. It is situated south-southwest of Charing Cross, in the valley of the River Wandle, one of the sources of which is Carshalton ...

manor. Scawen entered Parliament as the MP for New Windsor in 1693, sitting until 1698, when he was again returned as the MP for

Grampound Grampound ( kw, Ponsmeur) is a village in Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and today is on the A390 road west of St Austell and east of Truro.Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 204 ''Truro & Falmouth'' ...

in 1698 and twice in 1701 (being in December 1701 also elected for

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

). This was followed by two terms as MP for

Surrey Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...

from 1705 to 1710 and from 1721 to 1722.

Personal life

Scawen married Mary, the daughter of

Sir William Maynard, 1st Baronet Sir William Maynard, 1st Baronet (6 October 1641 – 7 November 1685) was an English politician and baronet. He was the third and eldest surviving son of Charles Maynard and his wife Mary Corsellis, daughter of Zeager Corsellis, of London. His unc ...

of Walthamstow, Essex but had no legitimate children. He left the Horton estate to his brother Thomas and the rest of his considerable estates in Buckinghamshire, Surrey, Yorkshire, Cornwall and Ireland to his nephew Thomas, Thomas's son.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Scawen, William British merchants Year of birth unknown 1722 deaths Members of the pre-1707 English Parliament for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1690–1695 English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1715–1722 Governors of the Bank of England Year of birth uncertain English MPs 1705–1707 Deputy Governors of the Bank of England