Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet
Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet | |
|---|---|
| Born | c.1704 |
| Died | January 18, 1768 (aged 64) Lee Place, Kent, England |
| Occupation(s) | Merchant, banker, politician |
| Years active | 1734–1768 |
| Known for | Lord Mayor of London (1761–1762), MP for Chippenham, Deputy Governor of the Bank of England |
Sir Samuel Fludyer, 1st Baronet (circa 1704 – 18 January 1768), of Lee Place in Kent, was a prominent English merchant and banker who also held positions as a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of London.
Biography
The eldest son of a London-based cloth merchant originally from Frome in Somerset, Fludyer received his education at Westminster School. Initially a religious dissenter, he eventually conformed to the Church of England. He significantly grew his father's enterprise, establishing himself among London's foremost merchants; at the time of his passing, his wealth was valued at approximately £900,000 (). His younger sibling, Sir Thomas Fludyer, acted as his junior business partner and was knighted during Samuel’s tenure as mayor.
A member of the Clothworkers' Company, Fludyer entered the Court of Common Council in 1734, advanced to become an alderman in 1751, served as sheriff from 1754 to 1755, and was appointed Lord Mayor for the term 1761–1762. He held a directorship at the Bank of England starting in 1753, completing four terms, and served as Deputy Governor from 1766 until his death. Knighted by George II in 1755 during his sheriffship, he was elevated to baronetcy in 1759. His mayoral wig was famously portrayed by William Hogarth in Five Orders of Periwigs (1761), despite King George II's opposition to merchants receiving peerages.
In 1754, Fludyer secured election as MP for the textile hub of Chippenham by investing £1,500 and agreeing to purchase all its produced cloth at above-market prices, thereby stimulating the local economy. A generally pro-Whig representative for over fourteen years, he did not make any speeches in Parliament. Although he lost the City of London seat in the 1761 election, he maintained his position representing Chippenham.
During his subsequent parliamentary term, Fludyer utilized his position to obtain government contracts benefiting his commercial interests. In 1763, he entered into partnership with Adam Drummond as Treasury Paymaster for British military forces in North America. Although the Marquess of Rockingham's administration attempted to terminate this contract in 1766, it was reinstated under William Pitt's government.
Fludyer married twice: first to Jane Clerke (deceased 1757), with whom he had one daughter; then on 2 September 1758 to Caroline Brudenell (died 1803), niece of the 3rd Earl of Cardigan. They had two sons:
- Samuel Brudenell Fludyer (1759–1833), who inherited the baronetcy and served as MP for Aldborough
- George Fludyer (1761–1837), who represented both Chippenham and Appleby in Parliament
Fludyer passed away in 1768 and was interred at St Margaret's, Lee. The shared tomb with his brother is recognized as a Grade II-listed monument.
See also
References
- Concise Dictionary of National Biography (1930)
- Thomas Wotton, Edward Kimber and Richard Johnson, The Baronetage of England (London, 1771) [1]
External links
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- Short description with empty Wikidata description
- 1700s births
- 1768 deaths
- Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
- British MPs 1754–1761
- British MPs 1761–1768
- Whig (British political party) MPs
- Sheriffs of the City of London
- 18th-century lord mayors of London
- English bankers
- Deputy governors of the Bank of England
- Fludyer family