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Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet

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Portrait of Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Bt, painted by George Romney
Nettlecombe Court in Somerset, seat of the Trevelyan baronets

Sir John Trevelyan, 4th Baronet (6 February 1735 – 18 April 1828) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1777 to 1796.

Origins

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A member of an ancient family of Cornwall, he was the only son and heir of Sir George Trevelyan, 3rd Baronet (1707–1768) of Nettlecombe.[1]

Career

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He served as High Sheriff of Somerset for 1777-8 and sat as a Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne from 1777 to 1780 and for Somerset from 1780 to 1796. In 1784 he was a member of the St. Alban's Tavern group who tried to bring Fox and Pitt together.[1]

Involvement in slavery

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He owned enslaved people on Grenada.[2] In 1835 his family received compensation of £26,898, a huge sum at the time, from the British government for the abolition of slavery a year earlier.[3] A descendant is the former BBC journalist Laura Trevelyan who quit the BBC to campaign for reparative justice for the Caribbean.[4]

Marriage and issue

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Arms of Trevelyan: Gules, a demi-horse argent hoofed and maned or issuing out of water in base proper[5]

He married Louisa Marianne Simond, a daughter and co-heiress of Peter Simond of London, a Huguenot merchant. He inherited various Northumbrian estates from his wife's uncle in 1777.[1] By his wife he had 6 sons and 2 daughters[1] including:

Death

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He died in April 1828, aged 93.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "TREVELYAN, Sir John, 4th Bt. (1735–1828), of Nettlecombe, Som. and Wallington, Northumb". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 27 May 2013.
  2. ^ "Sir John Trevelyan 4th Bart. of Nettlecombe". Centre for the Study of Legacies of British Slavery. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  3. ^ Lashmar, Paul (4 February 2023). "'My forefathers did something horribly wrong': British slave owners' family to apologise and pay reparations". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  4. ^ Mohdin, Aamna (16 March 2023). "Laura Trevelyan quits BBC to campaign for reparative justice for Caribbean". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  5. ^ Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.798
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Newcastle-upon-Tyne
1777–1780
With: Sir Matthew White Ridley
Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Somerset
1780–1796
With: Richard Hippisley Coxe 1780–1784
Edward Phelips 1784–1792
Henry Hippisley Coxe 1792–1795
William Gore-Langton 1795–1796
Succeeded by
Baronetage of England
Preceded by
George Trevelyan
Baronet
(of Nettlecombe)
1768–1828
Succeeded by
John Trevelyan