John Levett
Encyclopedia
John Levett of Wychnor Park
, Staffordshire, was an English landowner and investor, and a Tory
politician.
(1693-1746), Lichfield attorney and town clerk, and his wife Mary Babington, daughter of Zachary Babington
. The Levett
family had common roots in Sussex, and the branch had moved to Staffordshire. Levett was educated at Westminster School
and Brasenose College, Oxford
, and served for a time as a barrister at the Middle Temple
and the Inner Temple
in London.
Levett was elected Member of Parliament
for Lichfield
for one term only (1761-1762). After his election to Parliament, Levett is not recorded having spoken or voted while there. Questions were raised about his election and he was unseated after a petition by his opponent Hugo Meynell
, who re placed him as MP.
After being unseated by petition, he is not known to have stood for Parliament again.
John Levett lived at Wychnor Park
from 1765, when he purchased the estate while living in Lichfield. Levett was a sometime member of the Lunar Society
, and an early investor in the industrial projects of Birmingham inventor Matthew Boulton
. In his will, John Levett assigned part of the revenues he derived from his Soho Manufactory
investments to the Prebendary of Curborough, Staffordshire, to which the Levett family had ancestral connections.
John Levett never married and is buried in Whittington, Staffordshire
, where his Babington ancestors had resided, and where the Levett family continued to hold land.
Wychnor Hall
Wychnor Hall is an early 18th century country house near Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Formerly owned by the Levett family, descendants of Theophilus Levett, Steward of the city of Lichfield in the early eighteenth century, the hall has been converted to a Country Club. It is a Grade II listed...
, Staffordshire, was an English landowner and investor, and a Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
politician.
Biography
John Levett was the son of Theophilus LevettTheophilus Levett
Theophilus Levett was an attorney and early town clerk of Lichfield, Staffordshire, a prominent early Staffordshire politician and landowner, and a member of a thriving Lichfield social and intellectual circle which included his friends Samuel Johnson, the physician Erasmus Darwin, the writer Anna...
(1693-1746), Lichfield attorney and town clerk, and his wife Mary Babington, daughter of Zachary Babington
Zachary Babington
Zachary Babington , High Sheriff of Staffordshire in 1713 and 1724, was a barrister.He was the son of John Babington , and was named for his grandfather Dr. Zachary Babington, chancellor of Lichfield Cathedral...
. The Levett
Levett
Levett is an Anglo-Norman territorial surname deriving from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, now Jonquerets-de-Livet, in Eure, Normandy. Ancestors of the earliest Levett family in England, the de Livets were lords of the village of Livet, and undertenants of the de Ferrers, among the most powerful of...
family had common roots in Sussex, and the branch had moved to Staffordshire. Levett was educated at Westminster School
Westminster School
The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...
and Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, Oxford
Brasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. As of 2006, it has an estimated financial endowment of £98m...
, and served for a time as a barrister at the Middle Temple
Middle Temple
The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...
and the Inner Temple
Inner Temple
The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court in London. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wales, an individual must belong to one of these Inns...
in London.
Levett was elected Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Lichfield
Lichfield (UK Parliament constituency)
Lichfield is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election.- Boundaries :...
for one term only (1761-1762). After his election to Parliament, Levett is not recorded having spoken or voted while there. Questions were raised about his election and he was unseated after a petition by his opponent Hugo Meynell
Hugo Meynell
Hugo Meynell is generally seen as the father of modern fox hunting, became Master of Fox Hounds for the Quorn Hunt in Leicestershire in 1753 and continued in that role for another forty-seven years . Meynell pioneered an extended chase at high speeds through open grassland...
, who re placed him as MP.
After being unseated by petition, he is not known to have stood for Parliament again.
John Levett lived at Wychnor Park
Wychnor Hall
Wychnor Hall is an early 18th century country house near Burton on Trent, Staffordshire. Formerly owned by the Levett family, descendants of Theophilus Levett, Steward of the city of Lichfield in the early eighteenth century, the hall has been converted to a Country Club. It is a Grade II listed...
from 1765, when he purchased the estate while living in Lichfield. Levett was a sometime member of the Lunar Society
Lunar Society
The Lunar Society of Birmingham was a dinner club and informal learned society of prominent figures in the Midlands Enlightenment, including industrialists, natural philosophers and intellectuals, who met regularly between 1765 and 1813 in Birmingham, England. At first called the Lunar Circle,...
, and an early investor in the industrial projects of Birmingham inventor Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton
Matthew Boulton, FRS was an English manufacturer and business partner of Scottish engineer James Watt. In the final quarter of the 18th century the partnership installed hundreds of Boulton & Watt steam engines, which were a great advance on the state of the art, making possible the...
. In his will, John Levett assigned part of the revenues he derived from his Soho Manufactory
Soho Manufactory
The Soho Manufactory was an early factory which pioneered mass production on the assembly line principle, in Soho, Smethwick, England, during the Industrial Revolution.-Beginnings:...
investments to the Prebendary of Curborough, Staffordshire, to which the Levett family had ancestral connections.
John Levett never married and is buried in Whittington, Staffordshire
Whittington, Staffordshire
Whittington is a village and civil parish which lies approximately 3 miles south east of Lichfield in the Lichfield district of Staffordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,591. The parish council is a joint one with Fisherwick...
, where his Babington ancestors had resided, and where the Levett family continued to hold land.
Further reading
- The Lunar Men: Five Friends Whose Curiosity Changed the World, Jenny Uglow, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, New York, 2002 (see John Levett, MP)