Sir Jonathan Cope, 1st Baronet (c. 1691 – 28 March 1765), was a British landowner 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 1713 to 1722.

Biography

Cope was the eldest son of Jonathan Cope, MP of Ranton Abbey,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, and his wife Susan Fowler, daughter of Sir Thomas Fowler, a London goldsmith. Cokayne, George Edward (1906)
Complete Baronetage
'. Volume V. Exeter: W. Pollard & Co. . p. 19 He succeeded to the estates of his father in 1694 and his guardians became Sir Thomas Pershall,

Sir Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Baronet Sir Robert Jenkinson, 2nd Baronet (c. 1655 – 1710), of Walcot, Charlbury, Oxfordshire, and Hawkesbury, Gloucestershire, was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1689 and 1710. Ea ...

and Henry Farmer. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

, on 18 February 1708 aged 16.Handley, Stuart (2002
"COPE, Jonathan II (c.1692–1765), of Bruern Abbey, Oxon."
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690–1715'', edited by D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, and S. Handley Cope was returned unopposed as a Tory Member of Parliament for

Banbury Banbury is an historic market town and civil parish on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. The parish had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding ...

at the

1713 Events January–March * January 17 – Tuscarora War: Colonel James Moore leads the Carolina militia out of Albemarle County, North Carolina, in a second offensive against the Tuscarora. Heavy snows force the troops to take ...

. 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 the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

on 1 March 1714. At the 1715 general election, he was returned unopposed again for Banbury. In Parliament, he voted against the government in all recorded divisions, and as a Tory, his name was sent to

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs (British political party), Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobitism, Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of Ki ...

, the Jacobite pretender to the British throne, as a potential supporter. In 1721, he inherited the Hanwell estates of

Sir John Cope, 5th Baronet Sir John Cope, 5th Baronet (19 November 1634 – 11 January 1721) was an English landowner, banker and Whig politician. Biography Cope was the third but second surviving son of Sir John Cope, 3rd Baronet by his second wife, Lady Elizabeth Fane, ...

of the senior Cope line, which had been disinherited in a family dispute. He did not stand at the 1722 general election and was succeeded at Banbury by his cousin Monoux Cope, of the disinherited line.Matthews, Shirley (1970
"COPE, Sir Jonathan, 1st Bt. (?1691–1765), of Bruern Abbey, Oxon."
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754'', edited by Romney Sedgwick Cope married in or before 1717, Mary Jenkinson, the third daughter of Sir Robert Jenkinson, his former guardian, and his wife Sarah Tomlins, the daughter of Thomas Tomlins of

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is southeast of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 88,000 as of 2023. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, charte ...

. She was baptised at

Charlbury Charlbury () is a town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the River Evenlode, Evenlode valley, about north of Witney in the West Oxfordshire district of Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of Wychwood, Wychwood Forest and the C ...

, Oxfordshire, on 10 June 1690, and died at

Bath, Somerset Bath (Received Pronunciation, RP: , ) is a city in Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman Baths (Bath), Roman-built baths. At the 2021 census, the population was 94,092. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, Bristol, River A ...

, in February 1755. She was buried on 27 February 1755 at Hanwell. They had a son, Jonathan, who predeceased his father, and five daughters. Cope died at

Orton Longueville Orton is a suburb of the City of Peterborough, in Cambridgeshire, England, about south west of Peterborough city centre to the south of the River Nene. It is located on the route of the A1. It expanded from the villages of Orton Waterville ...

Huntingdonshire Huntingdonshire (; abbreviated Hunts) is a local government district in Cambridgeshire, England, which was historically a county in its own right. It borders Peterborough to the north, Fenland to the north-east, East Cambridgeshire to the e ...

, on 28 March 1765, and was buried at Hanwell on 4 April 1765. His extensive estate included the

ground rent As a legal term, ground rent specifically refers to regular payments made by a holder of a leasehold property to the freeholder or a superior leaseholder, as required under a lease. In this sense, a ground rent is created when a freehold piece of ...

of the London Custom House, for which the Government paid £1,600 a year, on a lease of 99 years. He was succeeded by his grandson,

Charles Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English language, English and French language, French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic, Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''* ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cope, Jonathan, 1st Baronet 1690s births 1765 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 People educated at Eton College Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from the Borough of Stafford