Sir John Jennings (1664 – 23 December 1743) was a

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against Fr ...

officer and Whig politician who sat in the

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and

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between 1705 and 1734. He commanded HMS ''Kent'' at Cadiz and

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in 1702 during the

War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...

. He went on to be Commander-in-Chief of the

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, then

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and finally Governor of Greenwich Hospital.

Early life

Jennings was the fifteenth child of Philip Jennings of Duddleston Hall, Shropshire and his wife Christian Eyton, daughter of

Sir Gerard Eyton ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

of Eyton, Shropshire. He was descended from a

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to ...

family which had suffered for its adherence to the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gov ...

cause during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I (" Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of r ...

. He married Alice Breton.

Naval career

Jennings was appointed a lieutenant on HMS ''Pearl'' in 1687, and served with the same rank in HMS ''St David'' and HMS ''Swallow'', before being promoted to the command of the ''St Paul'', a fireship. In 1690 he was made captain of the newly launched HMS ''Experiment'', of 32 guns, and employed in cruising off the coast of

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

, where he intercepted a number of small vessels which were being used as transports by James II's forces. In 1693, Jennings was nominated captain of the ''

Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitutes ...

'', flagship of Sir John Ashby; later the same year he was transferred to the 62-gun HMS ''Mary'', in which he went to the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

with Admiral Russell. In 1696, he was removed to the ''Chichester'', of 80 guns; and, in the following year, was entrusted with the command of the ''

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

'', with which he captured a

St Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany, on the English Channel coast. The walled city had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth from local extortion and overseas adventures. In 1944, the Alli ...

privateer. Shortly afterwards, together with the frigate HMS ''Rye'', he fell in with three French ships: one quickly surrendered, and Jennings, leaving the ''Rye'' to look after their prize, pursued the other two and succeeded in compelling one to strike her flag after a vigorous defence. Having conducted their prizes to port, the ''Rye'' and the ''Plymouth'' fell in with the ''

Severn , name_etymology = , image = SevernFromCastleCB.JPG , image_size = 288 , image_caption = The river seen from Shrewsbury Castle , map = RiverSevernMap.jpg , map_size = 288 , map_c ...

'', a British man-of-war, and the three ships steered together for the coast of France, where they took five vessels laden with wine from

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectu ...

, and a small ship of war. On the outbreak of the

, Jennings commanded HMS ''Kent'' (of 70 guns) under Admiral Rooke at Cadiz and

in 1702, where he played a part in the destruction of the Franco-Spanish fleet. He took part in the capture of

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

, and was captain of the 96-gun HMS ''St George'' at the Battle of Málaga in 1704. He was knighted for his exploits by Queen Anne on 9 September 1704, and having been promoted to

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

in 1705, became Commander-in-Chief of the

in 1706. He was promoted to vice admiral in 1708 and

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

in 1709. His attack on Tenerife in 1706 was unsuccessful. He commanded the fleet off

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administrative limits w ...

from 1708 to 1710, and was later Commander-in-Chief of the

Mediterranean Fleet The British Mediterranean Fleet, also known as the Mediterranean Station, was a formation of the Royal Navy. The Fleet was one of the most prestigious commands in the navy for the majority of its history, defending the vital sea link between t ...

Parliamentary career

At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in several boroughs. During the pre ...

, Jennings was returned as Whig

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

Queenborough Queenborough is a town on the Isle of Sheppey in the Swale borough of Kent in South East England. Queenborough is south of Sheerness. It grew as a port near the Thames Estuary at the westward entrance to the Swale where it joins the R ...

. He was absent from the division on the choice of Speaker on 25 October 1705 and was absent on active service until the winter of 1707–8. Then in November he gave evidence to the Lords on the encouragement of trade in the West Indies and in January 1708 gave evidence on the bill for the encouragement of seamen. He also submitted a paper containing thirteen proposals to improve methods of manning the fleet, of which three were included in a Lords address to the Queen. He was returned again for Queenborough at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

. In parliament, he supported the naturalization of the Palatines in 1709 and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junt ...

, he was defeated at Queenborough, but was returned in the poll as MP for

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...

. However he was unseated on petition on 3 February 1711. Jennings was returned as MP for

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

on the Admiralty interest at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

. He voted with the Administration, except on the

Peerage Bill {{short description, Proposed British law of 1719 The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland which would have largely halted the ...

which he opposed. He joined the

Board of Admiralty The Board of Admiralty (1628–1964) was established in 1628 when Charles I put the office of Lord High Admiral into commission. As that position was not always occupied, the purpose was to enable management of the day-to-day operational requi ...

under the

Whig government In British politics, a Whig government may refer to the following British governments administered by the Whigs: * Whig Junto, a name given to a group of leading Whigs who were seen to direct the management of the Whig Party **First Whig Junto, th ...

in October 1714 but stood down when the Government fell in April 1717. He returned to the Admiralty Board under the

Second Stanhope–Sunderland ministry The second Stanhope–Sunderland ministry (1718–1721) was a continuation of the British Whig government headed by The Earl of Sunderland and The Earl Stanhope. These had taken power in 1717 to form the First Stanhope–Sunderland ministr ...

in March 1718 In 1719 he was one of the original backers of the

Royal Academy of Music The Royal Academy of Music (RAM) in London, England, is the oldest conservatoire in the UK, founded in 1822 by John Fane and Nicolas-Charles Bochsa. It received its royal charter in 1830 from King George IV with the support of the first Duke ...

, establishing a London opera company which commissioned numerous works from

Handel George Frideric (or Frederick) Handel (; baptised , ; 23 February 1685 – 14 April 1759) was a German-British Baroque composer well known for his operas, oratorios, anthems, concerti grossi, and organ concertos. Handel received his training i ...

and others. He was also appointed governor of Greenwich Hospital and Ranger of

Greenwich Park Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Heritag ...

from 1720, and presented the marble statue of George II by Rysbrack which stands in the Grand Square of the hospital. in September 1721, he was advanced to

Also in 1721, he acquired Newsells Bury at

Barkway Barkway is a long-established village and civil parish in the North Hertfordshire district of Hertfordshire, England, about five miles south-east of Royston, 35 miles from London and 15 miles from the centre of Cambridge. The Prime Meridian pa ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gov ...

. He was becoming deaf, but resigned from the Admiralty Board in June 1727 because he objected to serving under Lord Berkeley, the first Sea lord. He was returned again as MP for Rochester 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 trig ...

. Although Berkeley was dismissed from the Admiralty board in 1727, Jennings was not keen to return, hoping instead for a promotion or peerage. He was promoted to rear-admiral of England in January 1733, but resigned a year later when Sir John Norris was made admiral of the fleet and commander in chief.

Death and legacy

Jennings died at

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

on 23 December 1743 at the age of 79, and was buried in

Westminster Abbey Westminster Abbey, formally titled the Collegiate Church of Saint Peter at Westminster, is an historic, mainly Gothic church in the City of Westminster, London, England, just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is one of the United ...

. A separate monument exists at

Parish Church sculpted by

John Michael Rysbrack Johannes Michel or John Michael Rysbrack, original name Jan Michiel Rijsbrack, often referred to simply as Michael Rysbrack (24 June 1694 – 8 January 1770), was an 18th-century Flemish sculptor, who spent most of his career in England where h ...

.Dictionary of British Sculptors 1660-1851 by Rupert Gunnis p.338 With his wife Alice, he had one son, George, who duly inherited Newsells.

References

Sources

* * * * *

External links

Portrait of Sir John Jennings by Kneller, from the National Maritime Museum collection
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jennings, John 1664 births 1743 deaths Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Burials at Westminster Abbey British naval commanders in the War of the Spanish Succession Royal Navy admirals British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 17th-century Royal Navy personnel English MPs 1705–1707 Knights Bachelor