Sir John Stonhouse, 3rd Baronet, PC (c.1672–1733) was an English landowner and Tory 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 then

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 ...

from 1701 to 1733.

Life

Stonhouse was the eldest son of Sir John Stonhouse, 2nd Baronet of Radley and his wife Martha Brigges daughter of Robert Brigges, merchant, of St Paul’s Churchyard, London, and widow of Richard Spencer, Vintner, of Berry Street, Aldgate, London. He matriculated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

on 12 April 1690, aged 17 and was admitted 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 ...

in 1690. He succeeded his father 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 ...

in 1700. Stonhouse was returned as Member of Parliament for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

in December 1701. He held the seat for the rest of his life, as a Tory. From 1721, Stonhouse had Radley Hall built. The work was carried out by the Oxford masons Bartholomew Peisley III and

William Townesend William Townesend (1676–1739) was a prominent English sculptor, architect, and builder in 17th and 18th-century Oxford, associated with several important buildings. His masterpiece is the Radcliffe Camera, Radcliffe Library in Oxford, compl ...

, to 1725.

Family

Stonhouse married twice. By his first wife Mary Mellish he had two daughters, of whom Martha married Arthur Vansittart of Shottesbrook, and was mother of Robert Vansittart,

Henry Vansittart Henry Vansittart (3 June 1732 – 1770) was an English colonial administrator, who was the Governor of Bengal from 1759 to 1764. Life Vansittart was born in Bloomsbury in Middlesex, the third son of Arthur van Sittart (1691–1760), and his wi ...

and

Arthur Vansittart Arthur is a masculine given name of uncertain etymology. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. A common spelling variant used in many Slavic, Romance, and Germanic languages is Artur. In Spanish and Ital ...

, MP for Berkshire. His second wife was Penelope, daughter of

Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st Baronet (1662–1734) was an English politician. Life The son of George Dashwood, a London merchant, and Margaret Perry, he was a first cousin of Sir Samuel Dashwood and Sir Francis Dashwood, 1st Baronet (the fortunes ...

. They had nine children. Of those, three sons (

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 ...

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 ...

and

James James may refer to: People * James (given name) * James (surname) * James (musician), aka Faruq Mahfuz Anam James, (born 1964), Bollywood musician * James, brother of Jesus * King James (disambiguation), various kings named James * Prince Ja ...

) in succession held the baronetcy. One of the daughters, Penelope, married

John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower John Leveson-Gower, 1st Earl Gower, PC (10 August 1694 – 25 December 1754) was a British Tory politician who served as Lord Privy Seal from 1742 to 1743 and again from 1744 to 1754. Leveson-Gower also served in the Parliament of Great Brita ...

, as her second husband; another, Catherine, married

Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield Robert Lee, 4th Earl of Lichfield (1706–1776) was an English politician and peer, the last of the Earls of Lichfield. Birth and origins Robert was born on 3 July 1706 in St. James Street, Westminster, London. He was one of the ten ch ...

. Anne married Sir William Bowyer, 3rd Baronet and was mother of

Sir George Bowyer, 5th Baronet Admiral Sir George Bowyer, 5th and 1st Baronet (3 May 1740 – 6 December 1800), was a Royal Navy officer and politician of the eighteenth century. He participated in the Seven Years' War, fighting at the Battle of Minorca, Raid on Rochefort, an ...

. Radley Hall descended to a granddaughter of the 3rd Baronet, Penelope, Lady Rivers. She was the daughter of Penelope, by her first husband, Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Baronet of Clapham; she married

George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers (1 May 1721 – 7 May 1803) was a British politician, militia officer and diplomat who served as the British ambassador to Spain from 1770 to 1771. Background and education He was born in Geneva, the eldest son of ...

. Sir James Stonhouse died unmarried in 1792, leaving the Hall to Lady Rivers. Under the terms of the will, when she died in 1795, it passed to Sir George Bowyer, 5th Baronet.'Parishes: Radley', in ''A History of the County of Berkshire'': Volume 4, ed. William Page and P H Ditchfield (London, 1924), pp. 410–416 http://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/berks/vol4/pp410-416 ccessed 16 June 2015

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonhouse, John 1670s births 1733 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Berkshire English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford Members of the Inner Temple Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom