Joseph Cripps
Joseph Cripps | |
|---|---|
| Member of the British Parliament for Cirencester | |
| In office 1806–1812 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Preston |
| Succeeded by | William Cripps |
| In office 1818–1841 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 March 1765 Cirencester, Gloucestershire, England |
| Died | 8 January 1847 Ashcroft, near Cirencester, Gloucestershire |
| Resting place | St. Catherine’s Chapel, Church of St John the Baptist, Cirencester |
| Party | Tory → Conservative |
| Spouses |
|
| Children | At least eight (including William Cripps) |
| Relatives | See below |
| Occupation | Cloth manufacturer, banker, brewer, politician |
Joseph Cripps (10 March 1765 – 8 January 1847) was a prominent English cloth manufacturer, banker, brewer, and long-serving Member of Parliament for Cirencester. Despite his Tory affiliation, he was known for independent-mindedness and support of moderate reform.[1] He also served as governor of the Van Diemen's Land Company and was described at his death as leaving an “enormous” fortune.[2]
Early life and business
[edit]Cripps was born in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, the son of Joseph Cripps, a cloth manufacturer, and his wife Hester (née Hall).[1] He inherited his father’s manufactory, acquired a second mill, and diversified into brewing and banking.[3] His mills also made use of workhouse labour in the early 19th century.[4]
Civic and colonial roles
[edit]He was active in local affairs, serving as captain of the Cirencester Volunteers in 1798 and rising to lieutenant colonel commanding the corps by 1803.[1] In 1792 he was also appointed commissioner of the Court of Requests for the Seven Hundreds of Cirencester.[3]
From 1825 he was a director of the Van Diemen’s Land Company, becoming deputy governor in 1829 and governor from about 1838 to 1842.[5] The schooner Joseph Cripps sailed between Hobart, Launceston, and Port Adelaide in the 1840s.[6]
Parliamentary career
[edit]Cripps was elected MP for Cirencester in 1806, reflecting demands for a local representative rather than London merchant Robert Preston.[1] Narrowly defeated in 1812, he returned unopposed in 1818 and held the seat until 1841, when his son William succeeded him.[1] Though a Tory, he often supported moderate reforms.[1]
Family
[edit]Cripps married Elizabeth Harrison in 1786. They had five children before her death in 1799. In 1801 he married her sister Dorothea Harrison, and they had eight more children.[citation needed]
He died in January 1847 at Ashcroft, near Cirencester, and was buried in the family vault at St. Catherine’s Chapel in the Church of St. John the Baptist, Cirencester.[1]
Legacy
[edit]Cripps’s obituary in the Law Times noted his “enormous” fortune, the product of extensive commercial, banking, and political activity.[2] He is regarded as the progenitor of numerous notable descendants:
- His son, William Cripps (MP), was MP for Cirencester and a Junior Lord of the Treasury under Sir Robert Peel.[1]
- His grandson William Harrison Cripps (1850-1923), a prominent surgeon
- His grandson Charles Cripps, 1st Baron Parmoor (1852-1941), politician
- His grandson Wilfred Joseph Cripps (1841-1903), antiquarian and expert on antique silver plate
- His grandson John Matthew Cripps (1823–1892), Major-General in the Bengal Staff Corps, recorded his campaigns in the memoir Recollections of My Indian Career (Reading, 1888).[7][8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "CRIPPS, Joseph (1765–1847), of Coxwell Street, Cirencester, Glos". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- 1 2 "Joseph Cripps, Esq". The Law Times. 29 October 1859. p. 62.
- 1 2 The Parliamentary History of the County of Gloucester. Gloucester: Privately Printed. 1898. pp. 137–138.
- ↑ Ryland-Epton (2017). "Cirencester Workhouse under the Old Poor Law". Transactions of the Bristol & Gloucestershire Archaeological Society. 135: 225–236.
- ↑ "Joseph Cripps". National Portrait Gallery. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ↑ "January to June arrivals at Port Adelaide". The Ships List. Retrieved 6 September 2025.
- ↑ Cripps, John Matthew. Recollections of My Indian Career. Reading: Miss E. Langley, 1888. Digitised by UBC Library Open Collections: https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/specialp/items/1.0396020
- ↑ London Gazette, 19 September 1882, p. 4302.
External links
[edit]- 1765 births
- 1847 deaths
- English industrialists
- People from Cirencester
- English bankers
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Cirencester
- Tory MPs (pre-1834)
- Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
- UK MPs 1806–1807
- UK MPs 1807–1812
- UK MPs 1818–1820
- UK MPs 1820–1826
- UK MPs 1826–1830
- UK MPs 1830–1831
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