Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet (2 January 1652 – 25 January 1733) was an English merchant and Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

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 ...

between 1701 and 1733. He also served as the

governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent choosing and mentoring a successor. The governor ...

and was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the Mayors in England, mayor of the City of London, England, and the Leader of the council, leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded Order of precedence, precedence over a ...

in 1711.

Early life

Heathcote was the eldest son of Gilbert Heathcote of Chesterfield, Derbyshire, and his wife, Anne Dickons, daughter of George Dickons of Chesterfield. He began his apprenticeship as a merchant overseas, and returned to England in 1680 to set himself up as a City trader. He became a Freeman of the Vintners' Company in 1681. On 30 May 1682, he married Hester Rayner, daughter of Christopher Rayner, merchant, of London. He was living in the parish of St Dunstan's-in-the-East in 1682 and established a business as a merchant in St Swithin's Lane trading in Spanish wines and other produce. He took his first step in Corporation government when elected Common Councilman for Walbrook ward in 1689. In 1690, he succeeded his father. Heathcote was an agent for Jamaica from 1693 to 1704, furnishing remittances on behalf of the government for the troops there. He also traded extensively with the East Indies. In 1693, the ship ''Redbridge'', of which he was part owner, was detained by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

, which claimed a monopoly of the trade with India. He asserted at the bar of the House of Commons his right to trade wherever he pleased, unless restrained by Parliament, and the house declared by resolution against the company's monopoly. Heathcote promoted the bill for a new East India Company. In 1694 he was a Commissioner taking subscriptions to 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 selected by ballot as a director of the bank from then, with statutory intervals for the rest of his life. He was a commissioner for Greenwich Hospital in 1695. In 1697 he was a trustee for Exchequer bills and became treasurer of the

Eastland Company The Eastland Company, or North Sea Company, was an English Crown-chartered company, founded in 1579 to foster trade with Scandinavia and Baltic Sea states. Like the better-known Russia Company, this was an attempt by the English to challenge the ...

until 1699. At a meeting of this company, held in London about 1698,

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

was present, and was addressed by Heathcote 'in high Dutch' with reference to the importation of tobacco into his dominions. In 1698, he was a Commissioner for taking subscriptions to the New

loan subscribing 10,000l. of its capital himself. He was a member of a committee of seven to arrange matters with the old company and became a Director of the new Company until 1704.

Political career

At the

1698 English general election After the conclusion of the 1698 English general election the government led by the Whig Junto believed it had held its ground against the opposition. Over the previous few years, divisions had emerged within the Whig party between the 'court' su ...

Heathcote stood for Parliament for the

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

, but was defeated. He became a member of the

Russia Company The Muscovy Company (also called the Russia Company or the Muscovy Trading Company; ) was an English trading company chartered in 1555. It was the first major chartered joint-stock company, the precursor of the type of business that would soon f ...

in 1699. In 1700, he was master of the Vintners' Company. He was returned as Member of Parliament for City of London at the first general election of 1701 but was expelled on 20 March 1701 for his share in the circulation of some exchequer bills. He was however returned at the second general election of 1701. Heathcote became an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

for Walbrook on 30 June 1702, and was returned again as MP for London at the

1702 English general election The 1702 English general election was the first to be held during the reign of Anne, Queen of Great Britain, Queen Anne, and was necessitated by the demise of William III of England, William III. The new government dominated by the Tories (Briti ...

. He was knighted by the Queen on 29 October 1702, when she was dining at banquet at the Guildhall. He was also a manager of the united trade of the English company trading with the East Indies from 1702 to 1704. He was elected as

Sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

on midsummer-day 1703, having been fined in 1698 for declining the office, and served for the year 1703 to 1704. In 1705, he was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

.Complete List of Royal Society Fellows 1660-2007
in 2 pdfs, published July 2007. Retrieved 31 July 2012. He was a manager of the united trade again from 1705 to 1709. At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, 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 ...

he was returned again as MP for the City of London. He was a trustee for receiving the loan to the Emperor in 1706. From 1707 to 1710, he was a Colonel of the Blue Regiment of the city Militia, and was treasurer of the

Honourable Artillery Company The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the w ...

(HAC) from 1708 to 1711. 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 gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

he was returned again as MP for the City of London. He was governor of the

from 1709 to 1711. By an act of parliament extending the Bank's charter to 1710, Heathcote's gain was said to be £60,000. At the 1710 general election he lost his parliamentary seat for the City of London. In 1710, when Heathcote was next in seniority for election as Lord Mayor of London, he was strongly opposed by the court party, who objected to the remonstrance he addressed to the queen, but the court of aldermen finally elected him and he served from 1710 to 1711. He was unpopular and for this reason his Lord Mayor's procession to Westminster on 30 October was cut short, and the livery companies attended him by water in their barges. He was the last Lord Mayor to ride on horseback in the Mayoral procession. He was vice-president of the HAC from 1711 to 1720 and resumed his command of the Blue Regiment in 1714 remaining as colonel for the rest of his life. At the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...

Heathcote was returned as MP for

Helston Helston () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated at the northern end of the The Lizard, Lizard Peninsula approximately east of Penzance and south-west of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth.Ordnance Survey: ...

. He was appointed Commissioner for fifty new churches in 1715, remaining until 1727. By 1719, he was Governor of the Eastland Company. He was president of the HAC from 1720 for the rest of his life. 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 was returned as MP for New Lymington. He became president of

St Thomas' Hospital St Thomas' Hospital is a large NHS teaching hospital in Central London, England. Administratively part of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, together with Guy's Hospital, Evelina London Children's Hospital, Royal Brompton Hospita ...

in 1722 for the rest of his life. In 1725, he changed wards and became Alderman for Bridge Without ward, for the rest of his life. 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 ...

he was returned as MP for St Germans. He purchased

Normanton Hall Normanton Hall was a large, now demolished, country house at Normanton in Rutland. History Normanton was the possession of the De Normanvilles for fourteen generations following the Norman Conquest. The estate then passed in 1446 to Alice Basing ...

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, in 1729 from Sir Thomas Mackworth, 4th Baronet. He was appointed a commissioner for the

colony of Georgia The Province of Georgia (also Georgia Colony) was one of the Southern Colonies in colonial-era British America. In 1775 it was the last of the Thirteen Colonies to support the American Revolution. The original land grant of the Province of Ge ...

in October 1732, and obtained much support for the proposal from his fellow-directors of the Bank of England. He was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in 1733, eight days before his death. Although extremely rich, Heathcote's meanness is referred to by

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

; and it was this trait that accounts largely for his unpopularity with the populace. He died in London on 25 January 1733 and was buried at

St Matthew's Church, Normanton St Matthew's Church is a de-consecrated church in Normanton, Rutland. It is now on the shore of Rutland Water. The building is Grade II listed. Church of St Matthew, Normanton History The church was built in classical style for the Norman ...

, Rutland. A monument by the Flemish sculptor Rysbrack is now in St Mary's Church,

Edith Weston Edith Weston is a village and civil parish in the county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The population of the civil parish was 1,042 at the 2001 census, including Normanton, Rutland, Normanton and increasing to 1,359 at the 2011 cen ...

. Caleb Heathcote was his brother.

Links to slavery

Heathcote held shares in 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 ...

(SSC), a British joint-stock company which was granted the ''

Asiento de Negros The () was a monopoly contract between the Spanish Crown and various merchants for the right to provide enslaved Africans to colonies in the Spanish Americas. The Spanish Empire rarely engaged in the transatlantic slave trade directly from A ...

'' by the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

, which allowed the SSC to export slaves to Spain's American colonies as part of the

Atlantic slave trade The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of Slavery in Africa, enslaved African people to the Americas. European slave ships regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Pass ...

. However, according to

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

's Legacies of British Slave-ownership, Heathcote never owned slaves in the British

colony of Jamaica The Crown Colony of Jamaica and Dependencies was a British colony from 1655, when it was Invasion of Jamaica (1655), captured by the The Protectorate, English Protectorate from the Spanish Empire. Jamaica became a British Empire, British colon ...

. In response to news of Heathcote's links to slavery, the Gilbert Heathcote School in Chesterfield renamed itself in 2021 as the "Whittington Moor Nursery and Infant Academy".

Descendants

A descendant, Sir Gilbert John Heathcote, 5th Baronet (1795–1867), was created

Baron Aveland Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knight, ...

in 1856; and his son Gilbert Henry, who in 1888 inherited from his mother the barony of Willoughby de Eresby, became 1st Earl of Ancaster in 1892.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcote, Gilbert, 1st Baronet 1652 births 1733 deaths 17th-century English merchants People from Chesterfield, Derbyshire Sheriffs of the City of London 18th-century lord mayors of London Heathcote baronets British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Gilbert Members of the Parliament of England for the City of London Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Governors of the Bank of England Whig (British political party) MPs Fellows of the Royal Society Knights Bachelor English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707

Early life

Political career

Links to slavery

Descendants

See also

References