Frederick Winn Knight
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Colonel Sir Frederick Winn Knight (9 May 1812 – 3 May 1897) was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1841 to 1885.


Origins

Frederick Knight was the eldest son of John Knight II (d.1850) of Lea Castle, Wolverley, (2 miles north of Kidderminster) Worcestershire and 26 miles east of Downton Castle) (built by his father John Knight I) and 52 Portland Place in London, by his wife Hon. Jane Elizabeth Allanson-Winn, daughter of
George Allanson-Winn, 1st Baron Headley George Allanson-Winn, 1st Baron Headley (1725 – 9 April 1798), known as Sir George Allanson-Winn, Bt, between 1776 and 1797, was a British barrister, judge and politician. Biography Born George Winn, he was the only son of Pelham Winn, of Sou ...
(1725–1798). His grandfather, John Knight I of Lea Castle was an ironmaster and the grandson of Richard Knight of
Downton Castle Downton Castle is a grade I listed 18th-century country house in the parish of Downton on the Rock in Herefordshire, England, situated about west of Ludlow, Shropshire. Description The south-facing entrance front has a central square tower, ...
, Downton on the Rock, Herefordshire, (about five miles west of Ludlow, Shropshire) a magnate in the iron industry. He had at least two brothers: *Charles Allanson Knight (1814–1879) who married Jessie Ramsay (1828–1922), daughter of William Ramsay (1800–1881) (a.k.a. Innes) of Barra, Inverurie, and widow of Count Alexander de Polignac(d.pre-1862). His children were under the guardianship of the Fane Family of Fulbeck Hall, Lincolnshire, between 1876 and 1887. W.D. Fane wrote in his correspondence of Summer 1855 of visiting his friend "Knight" in Rome, probably at the house of John Knight II who had retired to Rome. *Edward Lewis Knight (1817–1882), of Hornacott Manor, Boyton, Cornwall. He married three times: **Firstly to Elizabeth Harris **Secondly in 1868 to Henrietta Mary Sanford, by whom he had issue, see section below, heir. **Thirdly 1877 to Edith Emma Butler (1851–1936)


Career

He was educated at
Charterhouse School (God having given, I gave) , established = , closed = , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , president ...
and was
lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...
of the
Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...
and of the 1st Battalion Worcestershire Rifle Volunteers, raised by him after 1859, for which service he received a knighthood. He was Deputy Lieutenant and JP for Worcestershire and was a family trustee of the
British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...
, as representative of Richard Payne Knight (1750–1824) of
Downton Castle Downton Castle is a grade I listed 18th-century country house in the parish of Downton on the Rock in Herefordshire, England, situated about west of Ludlow, Shropshire. Description The south-facing entrance front has a central square tower, ...
, the classical scholar and elder brother of his great-great-grandfather Edward Knight (d.1780). In 1841, Knight was elected
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
West Worcestershire West Worcestershire is a constituency in Worcestershire represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2010 by Harriett Baldwin, a Conservative. The constituency is considered a safe seat for the Conservatives. The constituency b ...
. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board under Lord Derby's Governments of 1852 and 1858–9. He held his parliamentary seat until 1885, for a remarkably long continuous period of 44 years, remarked on in the Vanity Fair caricature of him by ''
Spy Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
'' of the previous year captioned: "has sat for three and forty years".


Exmoor reclamation

Knight took over from his father in managing the 10,262 1/4 acre estate, (subsequently increased to about 20,000 acres) formerly the royal forest of Exmoor, Somerset, purchased for £50,122 by public tender by his father in August 1818 from King George III's Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues. His father had commenced the great task of reclaiming the rough grazing of the high moors, all over 1,000 ft, to arable production, and had built two farmsteads, Honeymead and Cornham, to the east and west respectively of his own residence at
Simonsbath House Simonsbath House is a historic house in Simonsbath on Exmoor in Somerset, England. The Grade II listed building is now the Simonsbath House Hotel, and outdoor activity centre. It lies in the valley of the River Barle and on the Two Moors Way foo ...
,
Simonsbath Simonsbath () is a small village high on Exmoor in the English county of Somerset. It is the principal settlement in the Exmoor civil parish, which is the largest and most sparsely populated civil parish on Exmoor, covering nearly but with ...
, formerly the only residence on the forest, built by James Boevey (1622–1696) in 1654, which already had enclosed farmland of 108 acres. There existed a familial connection between the Knights and the
Bampfylde Baronets Baron Poltimore, of Poltimore in the County of Devon, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1831 for Sir George Bampfylde, 6th Baronet. His son, the second Baron, held office as Treasurer of the Household from 1872 ...
(from 1831 Barons Poltimore),
lords Lords may refer to: * The plural of Lord Places *Lords Creek, a stream in New Hanover County, North Carolina * Lord's, English Cricket Ground and home of Marylebone Cricket Club and Middlesex County Cricket Club People *Traci Lords (born 1 ...
of the
manor of North Molton North Molton is a village, parish and former manor in North Devon, England. The population of the parish in 2001 was 1,047, decreasing to 721 in the 2011 census. An electoral ward with the same name also exists. The ward population at the cens ...
, which large manor was adjacent to the west side of the royal forest of Exmoor. Col.
Coplestone Warre Bampfylde Coplestone Warre Bampfylde (1720–1791) was a British landowner, garden designer and artist. Life Bampfylde was the only son of John Bampfylde by Margaret, daughter and heiress of Sir Francis Warre, 1st Baronet, and was educated at Blundell ...
(d. 29 August 1791), Colonel of the Somerset Militia and nephew of Sir Coplestone Warwick Bampfylde, 3rd Baronet (c. 1689–1727), had married Mary Knight, 2nd daughter of Edward Knight of Wolverley, Worcestershire. In 1841 John Knight II withdrew from the task and retired to Rome, and Frederick took up the task with much vigour. He built 15 further farmsteads and changed his father's policy of " in-hand" farming of the forest as one huge entity to one of colonising the moor with tenant farmers who would bear the risks and rewards of the farming operations themselves and would pay him rents. This was during a time of great population expansion when it was widely feared that food supplies would inevitably run short. The political situation was uncertain and revolution was feared unless the price of food could be reduced.
Thomas Malthus Thomas Robert Malthus (; 13/14 February 1766 – 29 December 1834) was an English cleric, scholar and influential economist in the fields of political economy and demography. In his 1798 book '' An Essay on the Principle of Population'', Mal ...
had written in 1798: "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man". Both father and son were unsuccessful with the mining ventures they planned on Exmoor, although much expenditure was made in prospecting for minerals and one mine-shaft was sunk, named Wheal Eliza. A large pond known as Pinkworthy Pond, was dug on The Chains, a boggy expanse of moorland in the NW corner of the forest, the purpose of which is unknown, but was possibly to drive mill machinery. Knight was a keen sportsman and also valued his Exmoor estate for the stag-hunting, which had been practised there with hounds for centuries. He also encouraged the abandonment of his father's determined policy of attempting to grow wheat, more suited to lowlands, and sought to introduce a pastoral system using sheep.Harvey, p.50 He is said to have largely designed many of the farmstead lay-outs himself, and these have been found to the present day to be well sheltered and well drained. Most of Knight's farmsteads survive today, only 5 having been demolished or partly so, namely: *Cloven Rocks, *Pinkworthy, farm buildings demolished, house remains, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. *Titchcombe, *Larkbarrow, requisitioned in WWII for artillery practice and destroyed by shelling. *Tom's Hill. The remaining farms and house which survive are: *Simonsbath House, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. *Horsen, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. *Wintershead, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. *Driver, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. *Emmett's Grange, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. Built in 1840, it was the home of Knight's land agent Robert Smith and included cowhoses for thirty-five animals, a relatively large herd for the period. It is the highest farmhouse on Exmoor at 1,250 ft. The house is larger than a simple farmhouse and clearly was built as an elegant Georgian residence. Elements of landscape tree-plantings survive in the grounds. In the 1930s it was rented as a hunting lodge from Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue (1888–1958) by his younger brother Hon. Denzil Fortescue who later became
Denzil Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescue Denzil George Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescue MC TD (13 June 1893 – 1 June 1977) was a British peer and farmer who served in both the First World War and Second World War. Early life and education Fortescue was the third born and second sur ...
(1893–1977) The property at present (2012) includes 900 acres. It is owned by the Barlow family, of whom Lucy Barlow is a joint-master of the Dulverton West Foxhounds. The property is let-out to paying guests on a weekly basis. *Warren. This is the most perfectly preserved of the historic Knight farmsteads. It was sold by the Fortescues to the Exmoor National Park Authority which sold it in 1983 to its tenant-farmer, Mr Hawkins, who later served as a joint-master of the Devon & Somerset Staghounds. It is occupied in 2012 by his son Andrew Hawkins and his wife a Councillor on Exmoor Parish Council. *Simonsbath Barton *Cornham *Duredon *Honeymead: Now modernised beyond recognition. Sold by Earl Fortescue in 1927 to the industrialist and director of
Royal Dutch Shell Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
Sir
Robert Waley Cohen Sir Robert Waley Cohen, KBE (8 September 1877 – 27 November 1952) was a British industrialist and prominent leader of Anglo-Jewry. Early life He came from a prominent Jewish family, being the grandson of Jacob Waley and a cousin of Arthur ...
(1877–1952), who had leased it since 1924. This was the first separate disposal made from the former Exmoor Forest. Waley Cohen purchased Honeymead with 1,745 acres, including Winstitchen Allotment and Exe Cleave Allotment, together with the farmsteads of Pickedstones, Winstitchen and Red Deer (a.k.a. Gallon House), comprising most of the eastern part of the former forest. Sir Robert brought modern farming techniques to Exmoor, and bred prize-winning herds of Friesian dairy cattle, Red Ruby Devon cattle, Exmoor Horn and Devon Closewool sheep. He also pioneered the planting of tree shelter belts as an addition to the traditional wall and beech hedge-banks. Sir Robert's son, Sir Bernard Waley-Cohen (1914–1991), was Lord Mayor of London (1960–61) and Chairman of the
Devon and Somerset Staghounds The red deer of Exmoor have been hunted since Norman times, when Exmoor was declared a Royal Forest. Collyns stated the earliest record of a pack of Staghounds on Exmoor was 1598. In 1803, the "North Devon Staghounds" became a subscription pack. ...
for many years. He was created a
baronet 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 ...
, "of Honeymead in the County of Somerset" in 1961. He continued to farm at Honeymead but gave up the dairy cattle. It is still owned by the Waley-Cohen family, which retains 1,000 acres. *Gallon House (formerly Red Deer) *Pickedstones *Winstitchen After the early death of his son aged 28 in 1879, Knight sold the reversion after his death of Exmoor to Viscount Ebrington, Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, the future
Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue (16 April 1854 – 29 October 1932), styled Viscount Ebrington from 1861 to 1905, was an English Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1881 until 1892 and later in the House of Lords havin ...
(1854–1932), whose family's principal seat was Castle Hill, Filleigh, 10 miles SW of Simonsbath. In 1927 the Fortescues sold 1,745 acres with Honeymead, Gallon House, Pickedstones and Winstitchen to Sir
Robert Waley Cohen Sir Robert Waley Cohen, KBE (8 September 1877 – 27 November 1952) was a British industrialist and prominent leader of Anglo-Jewry. Early life He came from a prominent Jewish family, being the grandson of Jacob Waley and a cousin of Arthur ...
. The remainder of the estate continued to be held by the Fortescues until after the death of the 5th Earl in 1958, when the latter's eldest daughter and co-heiress, Lady Margaret Fortescue (b. 1923), sold much of the "Simonsbath Estate", as the former Royal Forest was termed by the family, together with much of the two Fortescue estates centred on
Challacombe Challacombe is a small village on the edge of the Exmoor National Park, in Devon, England. The village has a small general shop/Post Office and a single pub, the Black Venus. The village is on the B3358 road and is 5 miles west of Simonsbath. ...
and
West Buckland West Buckland is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated south west of Taunton in the Somerset West and Taunton district. The parish has a population of 1,189. History In 904, certain lands were the basis of a charter to Asse ...
, to pay large death duties. The Simonsbath Estate properties sold were as follows, per the sales particulars headed "The Challacombe Estate and part of the Exmoor Estate, North Devon" dated 18 September 1959: **Driver Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Driver Cottages, Driver Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Pinkery Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Hoar Oak Herding, Lynton and Lynmouth **Exmoor Forest Hotel, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Emmetts Grange Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Wintershead Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Wintershead Cottages, Wintershead Farm, Exmoor **1 Wintershead Cottages, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Horsen Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor **Wintershead Cottages, Horsen Farm, Exmoor **2 Wintershead Cottages, Simonsbath, Exmoor It was a decision Lady Margaret said in 2001 that she then regretted, but had been advised at the time not to burden the remaining estate with the large borrowing required to meet the tax bill. She did however retain what she termed "the heart of the Exmoor estate", comprising Simonsbath Barton and Cornham, and started to farm this land in-hand using her own employees, not renewing tenancies on farms when they expired. She established five large flocks of sheep and two large cattle herds, the latter based at Cornham and Simonsbath Barton. Simonsbath sawmill was closed down as it was unprofitable. In 1989 Lady Margaret handed over the family estates to her daughter the Countess of Arran, who later on sold the remainder of the Simonsbath estate to John Ewart, a keen follower of the Staghounds, whilst Exmoor National Park purchased much of the moorland. Some of the houses however were retained where occupied by retired Fortescue employees. Ewart farmed under the name "Exmoor Forest Farms". In June 2006 Ewart offered Simonsbath Barton estate for sale via estate agents Savills and Strutt & Parker. The land offered comprised 2,080 acres freehold and a further 3,788 acres rented under a grazing licence from Exmoor National Park expiring in 2031. Also included was a 5-bedroom house, another of 4 bedrooms and a range of buildings and cottages. The asking price was £4 1/2 million. On his 1818 purchase Knight's father had accepted a contractual potential liability of having to build a parish church at Simonsbath should the population expand to the size to need one, and this became the case in 1845 when 18 residents of his estate put forward a petition stating a church was then needed. The Church of St Luke, about 1/2 mile to the east and uphill of Simonsbath House, was finally consecrated in 1856, and a new parish called Exmoor was created to cover the whole estate which had always been extra-parochial. Knight gave 12 acres to form the churchyard. Some of the Knight plans for Exmoor, never realised, are revealed by documents held at Somerset Archives:
"Two letters from John Knight of Simonsbath to Charles Bailey, Nynehead, concerning a rail road, with inclined planes, from Porlock to Exmoor Forest, 1826-7. Letter, with prospectus, from the Somersetshire and North Devon Junction Railway Company, concerning the extension of a line to Porlock, and the proposed development of the harbour, dependent on the good will of Capt. Blathwayt, 1845. Plan, on scale of 2 miles to one inch, showing Exmoor with G.W.R. railway, and a proposed ropeway between Porlock Bay and Picketstones Shaft, itself lying between Rogers Shaft near Simonsbath and Withypool; undated. Blueprint, endorsed "Exmoor Ironstone Deposit", showing boundaries of Exmoor Forest, proposed railway, and tramway to pits or workings; undated. c. 1850-55. Agreement between George William Blathwayt and Frederick Winn Knight of Wolverley House (co. Worcs.), esq., M.P., concerning the construction of a double line of locomotive narrow gauge railway from the property of said Knight on the forest of Exmoor to the harbour of Porlock, 1860".
It would appear that the Knights' development of Exmoor gained them enemies as the following extract shows:
"Letter from John Knight, Simonsbath, Exmoor Forest, near South Molton, Devon, concerning the attempted murder of Osmond Lock (Mr Knights agent), who was shot in bed in his cottage at Exford, Somerset. Two shots were fired, the first just... Date: 1834"


Marriage and progeny

In 1850 Knight married Maria Louisa Couling Gibbs (d.1900), daughter of E. Gibbs. They had one son, who predeceased both his parents aged only 28. They do not appear to have had any daughters as is suggested by the selection of his nephew as Knight's heir. Progeny: *Frederic Sebright Winn Knight (1851–1879), JP, DL, who pre-deceased his parents. He was born at Wolverley and was appointed one of two Deputy Lieutenants for Somerset on 16 September 1878.


Portraits

Five Knight family portraits were sold by the Sebright Educational Foundation at Christie's on 8 January 2008, in the style of the 19th-century English School, consisting of two young men and three young ladies, all in identical frames. Only one portrait was identified in the sale catalogue with certainty, namely that of Frederick Knight (1812–1897). It is likely the other young man was one of his brothers, and is unlikely to have been his son who died as a young man in 1879, the clothing fashion of which period is not represented in the portrait. The ladies are likely to be his sisters. The Sebrights were an ancient family of Wolverley, created Sebright Baronets in 1626. It must be assumed that the Knights were descended from a branch of this family, evidenced by the second forename of Sir Frederic's son, and by the fact the portraits came into the possession of the Sebright Educational Foundation, founded in 1620 under the will of William Sebright (1541–1620) of Besford, still existing today and very richly endowed.


Death

Sir Frederic Knight died on 3 May 1897 as the inscription on the pink granite tombstone memorial to his son in Simonsbath churchyard records: "In memory of Frederic Sebright Winn Knight JP DL born at Wolverley 11 May 1851 died 28 February 1879. Colonel Sir Frederic Winn Knight KCB born 9 May 1812 died 3 May 1897. Also of Dame Florence Maria his wife who died December 9, 1900".


Heir

His heir was his nephew Major
Eric Ayshford Knight Major Eric Ayshford Knight was a British Conservative Party politician. He served as an Conservative Party Member of Parliament for Kidderminster between 1910 and 1922. Parliamentary career Knight first contested the Kidderminster seat in th ...
(1862/3-1944), the son of his younger brother Edward Lewis Knight (1817-1882) by his second wife Henrietta Mary Sanford (d.1876), daughter of
Edward Ayshford Sanford Edward Ayshford Sanford, FRS (23 May 1794 – 1 December 1871) was a British Member of Parliament. He was the only son of William Ayshford Sanford of Nynehead and Lynton, Devon and educated at Eton College (1808–13) and Brasenose College, Oxfor ...
(d.1876) MP, of
Nynehead Court Nynehead Court is a Grade II* listed building at Nynehead in Somerset, England. History The building dates back to the late 14th century with major additions in 1675 and the 18th century. It was occupied by the Fluri family (1068 - 1318), the d ...
, Somerset. Edward Sanford was descended from John Sanford (1638–1711), son of Henry Sanford (1612–1644) of Nynehead Court by his wife Mary Ayshford (1606–1662), of Burlescombe, Devon. Through his mother John Sanford became the heir of the manor of Burlescombe, which he inherited from his cousin John Ayshford (1641–1689), whose mural monument exists in the Ayshford Chapel in the grounds of Ayshford Manor, Burlescombe. Eric Knight was Conservative MP for Kidderminster for four consecutive terms 1906–1922, Chairman of Kidderminster Rural District Council and Chairman of The Governors of Sebright School.


See also

*''
Knight v Knight ''Knight v Knight'' (1840) 49 ER 58 is an English trusts law case, embodying a simple statement of the "three certainties" principle. This has the effect of determining whether assets can be disposed of in wills, or whether the wording of the wi ...
'' (1840) A famous legal case which set certain precedents in the
common law In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
relating to trusts. Provides genealogical information on Knight family.


References

*


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Frederick 1812 births 1897 deaths People educated at Charterhouse School Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 UK MPs 1880–1885 Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath Deputy Lieutenants of Worcestershire Worcestershire Yeomanry officers