John Knight

John Knight (c.1686–1733) of Gosfield Hall, Essex was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1710 to 1733.

Early life Knight was the only son of John Knight and his wife Elizabeth. He was admitted at Middle Temple in 1702 and matriculated at Wadham College, Oxford on 26 March 1703, aged 16. His first wife was Elizabeth Slaughter of Cheyne Court, Herefordshire. He succeeded his father in 1708, and came into a significant inheritance. In about 1710 he acquired many Cornish estates from John Tredenham, and was listed as owning over £500 of Bank of England stock.

Career The Tredenham property carried an interest for one seat at St Mawes, but at the 1710 British general election Knight was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for St Germans. In 1711 he was included upon the list of ‘worthy patriots’ who had helped detect the mismanagements of the previous ministry, which implies Tory loyalties but his vote of in favour of the ‘No Peace without Spain’ motion on 7 December 1711 counters this. His only other significant action in this Parliament was his vote on 18 June against the French commerce bill. He was returned unopposed again at the 1713 British general election. On 18 March 1714, he voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele, and was classed as a Whig.

Later life and legacy Knight married, Anne Newsham, widow of John Newsham, MP, and daughter of James Craggs, as his second wife on 13 March 1724. She was a friend of Alexander Pope with whom she and her husband maintained a correspondence.

Knight died on 2 October 1733 leaving one surviving daughter by his second wife. His estates were inherited by his widow, who erected a monument by John Michael Rysbrack with an inscription by Pope to his memory in Gosfield church. After she remarried to Robert Nugent, she ‘ordered it to be enclosed ... with a wainscot screen to shut it off from her sight when she went to church, which, however, she seldom did’.