Sir John Heathcote, 2nd Baronet (1689 – 6 September 1759) of Normanton Park, Rutland was a British merchant and Whig 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 ...

in two periods between 1715 and 1741. Heathcote was the eldest surviving son of

Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet (2 January 1652 – 25 January 1733) was an English merchant and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician who sat in the English House of Commons, English and House of Commons of Great Britain, Bri ...

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 ...

, and his wife Hester Rayner, daughter of Christopher Rayner. He married Bridget White, daughter of Thomas White, on 5 August 1720. Heathcote was elected as a Whig Member of Parliament for

Grantham Grantham () is a market town and civil parish in the South Kesteven district of Lincolnshire, England, situated on the banks of the River Witham and bounded to the west by the A1 road (Great Britain), A1 road. It lies south of Lincoln, England ...

in a contest 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 ...

. He did not stand in

1722 Events January–March * January 27 – Daniel Defoe's novel '' Moll Flanders'' is published anonymously in London. * February 10 – The Battle of Cape Lopez begins off of the coast of West Africa (and present-day Gabon), ...

. He was a Director of 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 ...

from 1716 to 1724 and a Director of the Bank of England at statutory intervals between 1725 and 1735. From 1728 to 1731, he served again as a Director of the East India Company. He succeeded to the

baronetcy 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 ...

and Normanton Park on the death of his father on 25 January 1733. Heathcote was returned unopposed as MP for

Bodmin Bodmin () is a town and civil parish in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is situated south-west of Bodmin Moor. The extent of the civil parish corresponds fairly closely to that of the town so is mostly urban in character. It is bordered ...

at a by-election on 9 February 1733 and subsequently 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 voted with the Administration in every recorded division, except for the place bill in 1740. Between 1735 and 1740, he rebuilt

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 ...

to the design of Henry Joynes. He was defeated 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 ...

and then lived the life of a country gentleman, spending seven months of the year at Normanton. An attempt to obtain a parliamentary seat at Rutland in 1754 came to nothing. He was a trustee of the British Museum and president of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital (formally the Hospital for the Maintenance and Education of Exposed and Deserted Young Children) was a children's home in London, England, founded in 1739 by the philanthropy, philanthropic Captain (nautical), sea captain ...

. Heathcote died on 5 September 1759, aged 70 and was succeeded by his eldest son Gilbert Heathcote. His wife Bridget died on 5 May 1772. They had two sons and seven daughters, of whom were: * Gilbert Heathcote, 3rd Baronet (d. 2 November 1785), married firstly Margaret Hardwicke (d. 10 August 1796), married secondly Elizabeth Hudson (d. 14 July 1813). * John Heathcote (d. 29 July 1795) married Lydia Moyer (d. 14 August 1822), they had two children. * Bridget Heathcote (d. 2 March 1805) married James Douglas 14th Earl of Morton. * Ann Heathcote married Sir Robert Hamilton 4th Baronet, of Silvertonhill The St Matthews Church Normanton memorial tablet of Sir John Heathcote, 2nd Baronet, was removed 20 July 1972 to St Marys Church at Edith Weston, Oakham.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heathcote, John, 2nd Baronet 1689 births 1759 deaths 18th-century British merchants Heathcote baronets

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bodmin British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741

See also

References