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: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

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 mem ...

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 Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault. It is distinguished by its pred ...

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 associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

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 A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for 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 of Oxford (1669–1739) was a 17th/ 18th century British sculptor, architect and builder associated with several important British buildings. His masterpiece is the Radcliffe Library in Oxford, completed by his son. Life ...

, 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 w ...

and Arthur Vansittart, MP for Berkshire. His second wife was Penelope, daughter of Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st Baronet. 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 * Secon ...

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

) 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 an English Tory politician and peer who twice served as Lord Privy Seal from 1742 to 1743 and 1744 to 1754. Leveson-Gower is best known for his political caree ...

, 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 ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as p ...

of Clapham; she married

George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers George Pitt, 1st Baron Rivers (1 May 1721 – 7 May 1803) was an English diplomat and politician. Background and education He was born in Geneva, the eldest son of George Pitt of Stratfieldsaye (today rendered Stratfield Saye), Hampshire, an ...

. 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