Sir Fisher Tench, 1st Baronet (c.1673—31 Oct 1736) was a City of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

financier, who was a Member of Parliament and a director of several companies.

Background

Fisher Tench was the son of

Nathaniel Tench Nathaniel Tench (died 1710) was Governor of the Bank of England from 1699 to 1701. He had been Deputy Governor from 1697 to 1699. He replaced William Scawen and was succeeded by John Ward. Tench became a landowner in Leyton. A monument to him wa ...

(died 1710) and his wife Ann (died 1696), daughter and heir of William Fisher, Esq. Alderman of London.'Leyton: Manors and estates', ''A History of the County of Essex'': Volume 6 (1973), pp. 184-19

accessed: 15 November 2009.

bought the Great House estate at Leyton about 1686. The original house was probably Essex Hall, formerly Walnut Tree House, the oldest surviving building in

Leyton Leyton ( ) is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It borders Walthamstow to the north, Leytonstone to the east, and Stratford to the south, with Clapton, Hackney Wick and Homerton, across the Ri ...

in 1968. Nathaniel was one of the first directors of the

Bank of England The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom and the model on which most modern central banks have been based. Established in 1694 to act as the Kingdom of England, English Government's banker and debt manager, and still one ...

, and its Governor from 1699 to 1701. Nathaniel had previously been an Eastland and East India merchant. Fisher was educated at the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional association for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practice as a barrister in England and Wa ...

and

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (historically known as "Sussex College" and today referred to informally as "Sidney") is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1 ...

.Evelyn Cruikshanks and others, ''History of Parliament: House of Commons 1690-1715: V Members O-Z'' (Cambridge University Press for History of Parliament Trust, 2002), 619-621.

The Great House at Leyton

Nathaniel passed property at Leyton (comprising a capital message and 29 acres) to Fisher Tench and his wife Elizabeth in 1697. He inherited the rest of his father's estate in 1710, and probably soon after began to build the Great House at Leyton. It was a large mansion of two storeys, basement, and attics, built in the 'Wren' style of the period. The walls were of dark red brick with dressings of lighter brickwork and stone. The entrance front faced the high road and consisted of a central block flanked by lower and slightly recessed side wings. The main block had full-height Corinthian pilasters and a central pediment, while the wings had rusticated stone quoins. The whole façade, of thirteen bays, was surmounted by a modillion cornice, a panelled parapet, and hipped roofs with dormer-windows; six large stone vases broke the line of the parapet. The garden front was of similar size and character. The cupola from the house (demolished in 1905) is now on the tower of St. Mary's church.

Parliament

Fisher Tench first sought to enter Parliament at Shaftesbury in 1708, when he was referred to as an East India merchant. He served a year as

High Sheriff of Essex The High Sheriff of Essex was an ancient sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisions of th ...

in 1711 and then became a Whig Member of Parliament for

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

in 1713, when he and his fellow Whig candidate wore wool in their hats to signify their support of cloth manufacturers, in opposition to the concessions made by the Tory government in the commercial clauses of the

Treaty of Utrecht The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...

(which were never ratified). The election was declared void in 1714, but both he and his fellow member were re-elected. He remained an MP until 1722, and was created a Baronet in 1715. His initial election was declared void in 1714, but he and his fellow member

John Lade Sir John Lade, 2nd Baronet (1 August 1759 – 10 February 1838) was a prominent member of English Regency, Regency society, notable as an owner and breeder of racehorses, as an accomplished Driving (horse), driver, associated with Samuel Jo ...

were both re-elected at the subsequent by-election, a keenly fought (and probably expensive) contest, but he was re-elected unopposed in 1715. He withdrew from politics after he defeat at the election of 1722. He served as

in 1711.

Commercial activities

Company director

Fisher Tench became an Assistant of the

Royal Africa Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Engl ...

in 1711 and its sub-Governor in 1716. This may have assisted his election to Parliament, as John Lade shared his interest. he also enjoyed the interest of Lord Cowper, one of whose protégés he had assisted in that trade. He was a director 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 1715 to 1718.R. Sedgwick, ''History of Parliament: House of Commons 1715-54: II Members E-Y'' (HMSO, London 1970), 465. Later in life, he was at times a director of the

Company of Mineral and Battery Works The Company of Mineral and Battery Works was, with the Society of Mines Royal, Society of the Mines Royal, one of two mining monopolies created by Elizabeth I of England, Elizabeth I. The company's rights were based on a patent granted to William ...

, but sometimes in conflict with Sir John Meres, its governor.

Lighting London

In 1716, with Sir Samuel Garrard, he leased the convex lights of the City of London, under the London Lighting Act 1716. When he had difficulty in paying his rent in 1735, he unsuccessfully alleged that his 21-year lease was beyond the powers of the

Corporation of London The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the local authority of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United Kingdom's fi ...

to grant.

Plantations

He owned a plantation in Virginia, run by slaves, whom he converted to Christianity. One of them (George Pompey) was commemorated in a memorial as a good Christian in his death after 20 years service to Sir Fisher Tench in 1735.

Charitable Corporation

He was elected to the committee (board of directors) of the

Charitable Corporation The Charitable Corporation was an institution in Britain intended to provide loans at low interest to the deserving poor, including through large-scale pawnbroking. It was established by charter in 1707. Its full title was "Charitable Corporation ...

in October 1725, but held office for a little over a year, and was thus not involved in the frauds on that company. However, he was present at a committee meeting when the cashier (William Tench – his second son) was directed to draw its cash out of the hands of Mr Pepys and pay it to George Robinson. He was also at earlier committee meetings, which had resolved to issue notes to circulate like

bank note A banknote or bank notealso called a bill (North American English) or simply a noteis a type of paper money that is made and distributed ("issued") by a bank of issue, payable to the bearer on demand. Banknotes were originally issued by commer ...

s. Viscount Percy, wondered whether he would be censured, having allowed his son to remain cashier during the frauds, particularly as the son's post was worth £600 per year to him despite the salary being only £150. Robinson was paying £100, evidently to hide his roguery.''Diary of Viscount Percival (afterwards 1st Earl of Egmont)'' I (Historical Manuscripts Commission, 1920), 270.

Posterity

Fisher Tench died in 1736, having had five sons and four daughters, but several (including his second son William) predeceased him. He was succeeded by his son

Nathaniel Nathaniel is an English variant of the biblical Hebrew name A name is a term used for identification by an external observer. They can identify a class or category of things, or a single thing, either uniquely, or within a given context. ...

, who died the following year. The Great House property then passed to Nathaniel's sister Jane. She married Adam Soresby (a widower). On her death in 1752, it passed to her stepson, William Soresby, who sold the property in 1758.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tench, Fisher 1670s births 1736 deaths English businesspeople Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 Whig (British political party) MPs Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain People from Leyton High sheriffs of Essex