Jenison Shafto (c. 1728 – 13 May 1771), of

West Wratting Park West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Counties of England, county in the East of England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and North ...

, was an English politician, race-horse owner, and gambler. He was second son of Robert Shafto of

Benwell Towers The Mitre is a building situated in the Benwell area in the west end of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is a Grade II listed building. A tower house known as Benwell Tower was built in 1221. It became home to a branch of the Shafto family o ...

Northumberland Northumberland () is a ceremonial counties of England, county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Ab ...

. He served in the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

with the

1st Foot Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

, being commissioned as ensign in 1745 and retiring as lieutenant in 1755. He was a

Member Member may refer to: * Military jury, referred to as "Members" in military jargon * Element (mathematics), an object that belongs to a mathematical set * In object-oriented programming, a member of a class ** Field (computer science), entries in ...

(MP) of the Parliament of Great Britain for

Leominster Leominster ( ) is a market town in Herefordshire, England, at the confluence of the River Lugg and its tributary the River Kenwater. The town is north of Hereford and south of Ludlow in Shropshire. With a population of 11,700, Leominster is t ...

from 1761 to 1768 and for

Castle Rising Castle Rising is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is situated some north-east of the town of King's Lynn and west of the city of Norwich. The River Babingley skirts the north of the village separating C ...

from 1768 until his death. His only recorded speech in the House of Commons was made on 18 March 1762, proposing the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non- professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

be sent to serve abroad, during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War (1756–1763) was a global conflict that involved most of the European Great Powers, and was fought primarily in Europe, the Americas, and Asia-Pacific. Other concurrent conflicts include the French and Indian War (1754– ...

, reputedly done to win a wager of £200 laid at his London club, Arthur's. As a horse owner, Shafto's thoroughbred racers included: Snap, which he bought in 1752 and sold after it had won three 1000- guinea match races at Newmarket; Squirrel, another successful racer which was retired for stud in 1760 and lived until 1780; and Goldfinder, sired by Snap, which won two Newmarket Challenge Cups and Whips before being sold to stud. He was reported to have rode 100 miles every day for 29 days to

Newmarket Heath Newmarket Heath is a 279.3-hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Newmarket in Suffolk. It covers most of Newmarket Racecourse Newmarket Racecourse is a British Thoroughbred horse racing venue in Newmarket, Suffolk, N ...

, and then for 50 miles for 2 hours, for bets. In 1763, his reputation as a winning gambler at Newmarket was such that

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole (), 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian, and Whig politician. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twi ...

wrote to Lord Hertford: "The beginning of October, one is certain everybody will be at Newmarket, and the

Duke of Cumberland Duke of Cumberland is a peerage title that was conferred upon junior members of the British Royal Family, named after the historic county of Cumberland. History The Earldom of Cumberland, created in 1525, became extinct in 1643. The dukedo ...

will lose, and Shafto win, two or three thousand pounds". He committed suicide, having shot himself, in May 1771, which many attributed to gambling losses on the turf and elsewhere He had married on 24 November 1750 Margaret, daughter and co-heiress of Thomas Allen who was one of the main coal-owners of County Durham. The couple had no children and she died in 1766. After his death his brother Robert continued to run his West Wratting stables until his own death in 1780.

References

1728 births 1771 deaths People from West Wratting British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Suicides by firearm in England {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub