Charles Barclay (MP)

Charles Barclay
Born	Template:Birth date Cheapside, London, England
Died	December 5, 1855(1855-12-05) (aged 74)
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, brewer, landowner, politician
Years active	Early 19th century
Known for	Brewing, landownership, Tory parliamentary representation for Southwark, Dundalk, and West Surrey

Charles Barclay (26 December 1780 – 5 December 1855), associated with Bury Hill in Surrey, was a British entrepreneur in brewing, a land proprietor, and a Tory parliamentary representative for Southwark (1815–1818), Dundalk (1826–1830), and West Surrey (1835–1837). He had strong familial ties to the Barclays and Gurney banking families through his Quaker heritage and was related to the social reform advocate Elizabeth Fry.

Life

Charles was born in Cheapside, London, as the firstborn of Robert Barclay (1751–1830) and Rachel Gurney (1755–1794), both stemming from affluent Quaker lineages involved in textile manufacturing and banking enterprises. His great-grandfather, David Barclay, was a notable London merchant who became connected by marriage to John Freame, one of the founders of Barclays bank. On his maternal side, Charles traced his ancestry to the Gurneys, who established Gurney's Bank in Norwich, later incorporated into Barclays in 1896.

Despite his Quaker upbringing, Charles participated in the local militia amid fears of a Napoleonic invasion. He wed Anna Maria Kett, daughter of Thomas Kett, on 1 August 1804. Together they had seven children—four sons and three daughters—with their second son Robert later serving as a director at the Bank of England.

Charles Barclay passed away on 5 December 1855 due to complications following a horseback riding accident sustained approximately two weeks prior.