Peter Burrell (6 August 1692 – 16 April 1756), of Langley Park, Beckenham, Kent, and Mark Lane, Fenchurch St., London, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

merchant and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

from 1722 to 1756.

Early life

Burrell was the son of Peter Burrell of Kelseys, Beckenham, Kent and his wife Isabella Merrik, second daughter of John Merrik, and older brother of Sir Merrik Burrell, 1st Baronet. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School from 1704 to 1707. He became a merchant in trade with Portugal. On 14 March 1723, he married Amy Raymond, daughter of Hugh Raymond.

Career

Burrell was returned as Member of Parliament (MP) for

Haslemere The town of Haslemere () and the villages of Shottermill and Grayswood are in south-west Surrey, England, around south-west of London. Together with the settlements of Hindhead and Beacon Hill (Hindhead, Surrey), Beacon Hill, they comprise ...

in a contest at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

. He voted with the Government, except on the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Excise officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

, which he opposed. He was sub-governor of the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially: The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

from 1724 to 1733 and a Director of Exchange Assurance from 1726 to 1738. He was returned unopposed 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 trigg ...

. In 1730, he introduced a bill, which became law, allowing South Carolina to send rice direct to Southern Europe. He was

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instru ...

for the year 1732 to 1733. At the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

he was returned unopposed again. In 1737 he was one of the main speakers against Sir John Barnard's scheme for reducing the interest on the national debt. In 1741, he supported a bill to regulate insurance. On the outbreak of war with Spain he secured a contract for remitting money for the forces in Jamaica, in partnershwith John Bristow, with whom he also shared similar contracts for Gibraltar and Minorca. He was returned again at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

. After the fall of Walpole in 1742, the Jamaican contract was severely criticized by the secret committee set up by the House of Commons to inquire into Walpole's Administration. He was included in the Treasury list of underwriters of a loan in 1744, taking £90,000. He spoke for the Government in a debate on supply on 22 February 1744. Burrell was defeated at Haslemere at the

1754 British general election The 1754 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Owing to the exten ...

. A further shock in 1754 was the earthquake at Lisbon which damaged his business there. He was returned in a by-election on 9 April 1755 as MP for

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

on Newcastle's recommendation.

Death and legacy

Burrell died on 16 April 1756, leaving four sons and two daughters. His oldest son

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represented Launceston and

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in the

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

, while his third son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

was also returned for Haslemere and succeeded later his father-in-law as baronet.

References

1692 births 1756 deaths British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Dover 18th-century British merchants {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub