Sir John Shaw, 1st Baronet ( – 1680) of Eltham Lodge, Kent was an English 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 1661 to 1679.
Shaw was the second son of London vintner Robert Shaw (d. 1678) and his wife Elizabeth Domilowe, daughter of John Domilowe of London. He made a considerable fortune in business and provided
Charles II during exile with considerable sums of money. After the
Restoration, he was made one of the
Farmers of the Customs of London.
[George Edward Cokayne ''Complete Baronetage, Volume 4'' 1900]
/ref>
He was knighted on 28 July 1660. In 1661, he was elected Member of Parliament for Lyme Regis
Lyme Regis ( ) is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and ...
in the Cavalier Parliament
The Cavalier Parliament of England lasted from 8 May 1661 until 24 January 1679. With the exception of the Long Parliament, it was the longest-lasting English Parliament, and longer than any Great British or UK Parliament to date, enduring ...
. From 1663 he leased, from the Crown, the Manor of Eltham
Eltham ( ) is a district of South London, southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. It is east-southeast of Charing Cross, and is identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. The three ...
which included the then derelict "Kings House" or Eltham Palace
Eltham Palace is a large house at Eltham ( ) in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich. The house consists of the medieval great hall of a former royal residence, to which an Art Deco extension was added in the 193 ...
and built a new manor house, Eltham Lodge, on the estate. He was created 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 ...
of Eltham on 15 April 1665. In 1667, he rebuilt the north aisle of Eltham Church.[
He was appointed a ]Gentleman of the privy chamber
A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England.
The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...
from June 1660 until his death. He was a commissioner of customs from September 1660 to 1662, customs farmer from 1662 to 1671 and a commissioner of trade from November 1660 to 1668. He was also joint paymaster of the Dunkirk garrison from December 1660 to 1662, surveyor of shipping from 1661 to his death, assistant Royal Adventurers into Africa by 1664 to 1671 and surveyor of woods and forests c.1667.[
He was made Lieutenant-colonel of the White Regiment of foot militia of London from 1660 to c.1665 and a commissioner for assessment for London (1661–63), for Kent (1663–64) and (1667 to his death), and for London and Surrey (1664–69). He was appointed commissioner for loyal and indigent officers for London and Westminster (1662), collector of customs for London from 1669 to his death and commissioner for recusants for Kent in 1675.
He married twice. He had married on 28 October 1649, Sarah Ashe, daughter of Joseph Ashe, of ]Freshford, Somerset
Freshford is a village and civil parish in the River Avon, Bristol, Avon valley south-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, in the county of Somerset, England. The parish has a population of 551. It is in the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty ...
. She died in December 1662, and was buried at St Mildred's, Bread Street. They had a son John, who was to succeed his father as 2nd Baronet.
He married secondly at Eltham on 24 June 1663, Bridget, Dowager Viscountess Kilmorey, daughter of Sir William Drury, of Besthorpe, Norfolk, and his wife Mary Cokayne, daughter of William Cockayne
Sir William Cockayne (1561 – 20 October 1626) was an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1619.
Life
He was the second son of William Cokayne of Baddesley Ensor, Warwickshire, merchant of London, sometim ...
, merchant, of London. They had two children, Charles and Elizabeth.
Shaw died at the age of 64 in Great Southampton (or Bloomsbury) Square, St Giles in the Fields, London and was buried at Eltham on 6 March 1680. His widow married as her third husband Sir John Baber, physician, on 15 February 1681, at St Bride's Church
St Bride's Church is a Church of England church in Fleet Street in the City of London. Likely dedicated to Bridget of Kildare, Saint Bridget perhaps as early as the 6th century, the building's most recent incarnation was designed by Sir Christo ...
. She died in 1696 and was buried alongside Shaw at Eltham on 11 July 1696.[UK and Ireland, Find A Grave Index, 1300s-Current]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, John
1610s births
1680 deaths
17th-century English merchants
English MPs 1661–1679
Baronets in the Baronetage of England
17th-century English knights
Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber
Members of the Parliament of England (pre-1707) for Lyme Regis