Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet (c. 1704 – 18 January 1768), of Lee Place in
Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, was an English merchant and banker who served as a
Member of Parliament and
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 ...
.
Biography
Fludyer was the eldest son of Samuel Fludyer, a London clothier but originally from
Frome
Frome ( ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, on uneven high ground at the eastern end of the Mendip Hills and on the River Frome, south of Bath. The population of the parish was 28,559 in 2021.
Frome was one of the largest tow ...
in
Somerset
Somerset ( , ), Archaism, archaically Somersetshire ( , , ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel, Gloucestershire, and Bristol to the north, Wiltshire to the east ...
, and was educated at
Westminster School
Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...
. He was by upbringing a
religious dissenter, though in later years he moved towards the
established church. Joining his father's business, he expanded it greatly until he was one of the city's foremost merchants; by the time of his death his fortune was said to amount to £900,000 (). (His younger brother,
Sir Thomas, was his junior partner in the company and was knighted at a City of London reception for the King while Sir Samuel was Lord Mayor.)
Becoming a member of the
Clothworkers' Company
The Worshipful Company of Clothworkers is one of the Livery Companies of the City of London. It was incorporated by Royal Charter in 1528, following the merger of two older guilds: the Fullers (incorporated in 1480) and the Shearmen (incorporat ...
, he was elected to
Common Council in 1734, 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 ...
in 1751, was
sheriff
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...
in 1754–1755 and
Lord Mayor
Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...
in 1761–1762. In 1753 he also became a director of 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 ...
, serving four terms, and was its
Deputy Governor from 1766 until his death in 1768. In September 1755, in his capacity as sheriff, he presented an address from the Lord Mayor, aldermen and common council to
George II expressing satisfaction at the King's safe return from his German dominions, and the King marked the occasion by knighting him. Four years later, on 14 November 1759, he was raised to the dignity of a baronetcy. The elaborate wig that he wore on becoming Lord Mayor in 1761 was depicted in
William Hogarth
William Hogarth (; 10 November 1697 – 26 October 1764) was an English painter, engraving, engraver, pictorial social satire, satirist, editorial cartoonist and occasional writer on art. His work ranges from Realism (visual arts), realistic p ...
's 1761 engraving ''
Five Orders of Periwigs
5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number.
Humans, and many other animals, have 5 digits on their limbs.
Mathematics
5 is a Fermat pri ...
'', although George II had a snobbish dislike of merchants becoming peers so like other merchants he could not expect to be a peer.
In 1754, Fludyer entered Parliament, having spent £1,500 to secure a seat at
Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...
in Wiltshire; Chippenham was a textile town, and Fludyer cemented his influence by agreeing to buy all its manufactured cloth at premium prices, which played an important part in establishing the town's prosperity. In the House of Commons he was generally considered a supporter of the
Whig government, though not an absolutely reliable one; he is not recorded as having ever spoken during his 14 years in the House. At the
general election of 1761 he stood as parliamentary candidate 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 despite having been one of the four victors on an informal show of hands was defeated at the poll; however, as he had taken the precaution of also being returned once more for Chippenham, he remained an MP.
In his second Parliament, he seems to have actively sought government contracts for his business, which being an MP (with a vote valuable to the government) he was well placed to secure, and in 1763 took over (in partnership with
Adam Drummond) as contractor to the Treasury as Paymaster to the British forces in the North American colonies. When the
Marquess of Rockingham
Marquess of Rockingham, in the County of Northampton, was a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1746 for Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Marquess of Rockingham, Thomas Watson-Wentworth, 1st Earl of Malton. The Watson family ...
's government replaced
George Grenville
George Grenville (14 October 1712 – 13 November 1770) was a British Whig statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain, during the early reign of the young George III. He served for only two years (1763-1765), and attempted to solv ...
's he was on the list of those whose contracts it was initially intended to cancel, but notice to terminate was not given to him until July 1766; days later Rockingham had resigned and Fludyer, by supporting the new
Chatham administration, saw his contract reinstated the following year.
He married twice: to Jane Clerke (d. 1757), by whom he had one daughter; and to Caroline Brudenell (d. 1803), niece of the
3rd Earl of Cardigan, whom he married on 2 September 1758. They had two sons:
*
Samuel Brudenell Fludyer (1759–1833), who succeeded to the baronetcy, and was MP for
Aldborough
*
George Fludyer (1761–1837), MP for
Chippenham
Chippenham is a market town in north-west Wiltshire, England. It lies north-east of Bath, Somerset, Bath, west of London and is near the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The town was established on a crossing of the River Avon, ...
and
Appleby
Fludyer died in 1768 and was buried in the churchyard of
St Margaret's, Lee
St. Margaret's Church, Lee, is a Church of England parish church in Lee, London. It was built between 1839 and 1841 in a simple early Victorian style (to a design by Norwich architect John Brown (architect), John Brown), replacing an earlier chur ...
. The tomb to both Sir Charles and his brother is a Grade II-listed monument.
See also
*
Fludyer baronets
The Fludyer Baronetcy, of The City of London, was a title in the Baronetage of Great Britain. It was created on 14 November 1759 for the merchant, banker and politician Sir Samuel Fludyer, with remainder in default of male issue of his own to hi ...
References
*
*''Concise Dictionary of National Biography'' (1930)
*
Thomas Wotton,
Edward Kimber
Edward Kimber (1719–1769) was an English novelist, journalist and compiler of reference works.
Life
He was son of Isaac Kimber; and in early life apprentice to a bookseller, John Noon of Cheapside. He made a living by compilation and editorial ...
and Richard Johnson, ''The Baronetage of England'' (London, 1771
External links
Chippenham Museum and Heritage CentreIndex of archive papers on Fludyer & Drummond
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fludyer, Samuel
1700s births
1768 deaths
Fludyer, Samuel, 1st Baronet
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1754–1761
British MPs 1761–1768
Whig (British political party) MPs
Sheriffs of the City of London
18th-century lord mayors of London
English bankers
Year of birth uncertain
Deputy governors of the Bank of England
Samuel
Samuel is a figure who, in the narratives of the Hebrew Bible, plays a key role in the transition from the biblical judges to the United Kingdom of Israel under Saul, and again in the monarchy's transition from Saul to David. He is venera ...