Thomas Knight (MP for Kent)
Encyclopedia
Thomas Knight was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons
in two periods between 1761 and 1780.
Knight was the son of Thomas Knight
(previously known as Brodnax and May) of Godmersham
and his wife Jane Monke.
In 1761, Knight was elected Member of Parliament
(MP) for New Romney
and held the seat to 1768. In 1774 he was elected MP for Kent
and held the seat until 1780.
Knight succeeded to father's estates in 1781, and greatly improved the seat and park of Godmersham.
Knight died aged 59.
Knight married Catherine Knatchbull, daughter of Dr. Wadham Knatchbull, prebendary of Durham. They had no children and by his will he gave Godmersham and the lands belonging to it, to his widow Mrs. Catherine Knight, for her life, with remainder to Edward Austen of Rolling Place. Austen, who took the name Knight, was the brother of the authoress Jane Austen
.
House of Commons of Great Britain
The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of the Parliament of Scotland, as one of the most significant...
in two periods between 1761 and 1780.
Knight was the son of Thomas Knight
Thomas Knight (MP for Canterbury)
Thomas Knight previously Thomas Brodnax and Thomas May was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1734 to 1741....
(previously known as Brodnax and May) of Godmersham
Godmersham
Godmersham is a village and civil parish in the Ashford District of Kent, England. The village is located on the Great Stour river where it cuts through the North Downs...
and his wife Jane Monke.
In 1761, Knight 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,...
(MP) for New Romney
New Romney (UK Parliament constituency)
New Romney was a parliamentary constituency in Kent, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1371 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act....
and held the seat to 1768. In 1774 he was elected MP for Kent
Kent (UK Parliament constituency)
Kent was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Kent in southeast England. It returned two "knights of the shire" to the House of Commons by the bloc vote system from the year 1290...
and held the seat until 1780.
Knight succeeded to father's estates in 1781, and greatly improved the seat and park of Godmersham.
Knight died aged 59.
Knight married Catherine Knatchbull, daughter of Dr. Wadham Knatchbull, prebendary of Durham. They had no children and by his will he gave Godmersham and the lands belonging to it, to his widow Mrs. Catherine Knight, for her life, with remainder to Edward Austen of Rolling Place. Austen, who took the name Knight, was the brother of the authoress Jane Austen
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.Austen lived...
.