Sir Jarrit Smyth, 1st Baronet (1692–1783), previously known as Jarrit Smith, was a British

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. The ...

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 o ...

for

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, from 1756 to 1768.The National Archives , National Register of Archives , Person details , Historical Details
/ref> He married Florence Smyth, daughter of Sir John Smyth, 3rd Baronet and Elizabeth Asthy. In addition to being a member of parliament, he was also a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

and the first to mine the

Long Ashton Long Ashton is a village and civil parish in Somerset, England. It falls within the unitary authority of North Somerset and is one of a number of large villages just outside the boundary of city of Bristol urban area. The parish has a populati ...

coalfield. In 1748 after various surveys Jarrit Smyth commissioned mine shafts to be dug at South Liberty Lane. In 1760 he carried a bill through Parliament to replace the medieval

Bristol Bridge Bristol Bridge is a bridge over the floating harbour in Bristol, England. The floating harbour was constructed on the original course of the River Avon, and there has been a bridge on the site since long before the harbour was created by impo ...

which was in a bad state of repair.Bantock, Anton (2004) ''Ashton Court'', , p. 29 His father-in-law died without male issue in 1741; on 27 January 1763 his 1661 baronetcy was recreated for Jarret Smyth as Baronet Smith (or Smyth) of Long Ashton, Somerset (1763) in the Baronetage of Great Britain. The first Baronet was succeeded by his son and subsequently by two nephews. Lack of male issue resulted in the extinction of the baronetcy in 1849.

Personal papers

Bristol Archives Bristol Archives (formerly Bristol Record Office) was established in 1924. It was the first borough record office in the United Kingdom, since at that time there was only one other local authority record office (Bedfordshire) in existence. It ...

holds personal, professional and Parliamentary papers relating to Jarrit Smyth amongst the archives of

Ashton Court Ashton Court is a mansion house and estate to the west of Bristol in England. Although the estate lies mainly in North Somerset, it is owned by the City of Bristol. The mansion and stables are a Grade I listed building. Other structures on th ...

(Ref. AC/JS)
online catalogue
.

References

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Bristol Coalfield 1692 births 1783 deaths British MPs 1754–1761 Tory MPs (pre-1834) Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub