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,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, 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 dow ...

, 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. The ...

, 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 o ...

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 f ...

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 and to the west of Godstone, has a conservation area with medieval buildings and is mostly on a wide escarpment of the Gr ...

, and at the 1820 general election he was returned again for the

. 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 assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members ...

of the city, becoming

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ju ...

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, London, 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 b ...

. 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 H ...

, claret, 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 ...

, 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.

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* * {{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

Life

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