John Pollexfen Bastard | |
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| Member of theGreat Britain Parliament forTruro | |
| In office 1783–1784 Serving with Bamber Gascoyne | |
| Preceded by |
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| Succeeded by |
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| Member of theGreat Britain Parliament forMember of Parliament forDevonshire | |
| In office 1784–1800 Serving with
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| Preceded by |
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| Succeeded by | Self in Parliament of the United Kingdom |
| Member of Parliament forDevonshire | |
| In office 1801–1816 Serving with
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| Preceded by | Self in Parliament of Great Britain |
| Succeeded by |
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| Personal details | |
| Born | (1756-09-18)18 September 1756 |
| Died | 4 April 1816(1816-04-04) (aged 59) |
| Political party | Tory |
| Relatives |
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John Pollexfen Bastard (18 September 1756 – 4 April 1816) was a BritishTory politician, landowner and colonel of theEast Devon Militia who was born and lived at Kitley House,Yealmpton, Devon.[1]
He married Sarah Wymondesold of East Lockinge, Berkshire, on 25 March 1780 at St Mary, Lambeth. She died in April 1808 leaving no surviving children. On 2 July 1809 he married, atPortland Chapel, Marylebone, Judith Anne Martin, daughter ofSir Henry Martin, naval commissioner at Portsmouth andComptroller of the Navy. He left no children of either marriage.
When colonel of theEast Devon Militia his father, William Bastard (b. 1 September 1727),[2] saved the arsenal of Plymouth from the French Fleet in August 1779 and, to recognise that, wasgazetted a baronet on 4 September but he declined to assume the title.[3] Through his mother, bornBridget Poulett, William was a member of the Poulett, Bertie, Herbert and other influential families.
In 1801 when colonel of the same regiment John Pollexfen Bastard quelled a riot of workmen and prevented the destruction of the Plymouth docks and dockyards. In 1815 he was conveyed by the Royal Navy to Leghorn (Livorno) for his health where he died the next year and was initially buried in theOld English Cemetery in Livorno, where his monument still stands. His body was returned to Devon in a man-of-war.
He was electedMember of Parliament forTruro in 1783 and for theDevonshire Constituency from 1784. He stood down in 1812 and was succeeded by his nephewEdmund Pollexfen Bastard (1784-1838) (the eldest son of his younger brotherEdmund Bastard (1758–1816)), who held the seat until 1830.
According to theOxford Companion to Children's Literature, Bastardindirectly inspired the familiar form of the children's rhyme "Old Mother Hubbard..."after instructing its authorSarah Catherine Martin, his sister-in-law, to "run away and write one of your stupid little rhymes."
Bastard owned several houses and large tracts of land in westernEngland including his main residence Kitley House.
TheNational Portrait Gallery has a portrait of John Pollexfen Bastard standing beside his younger brother Edmund in amezzotint of a painting byJames Northcote.
He also can be spotted inKarl Anton Hickel'sWilliam Pitt addressing the House of Commons on the French Declaration of War, 1793 in the collection of theNational Portrait Gallery.
A detailed account of his last journey and subsequent death can be found in the letters of Miss Eliza Simcoe, daughter ofJohn Graves Simcoe, who travelled with John Pollexfen Bastard and his wife to Leghorn as part of herGrand Tour. She accompanied his wife on the rest of the journey and nursed her through several episodes of bad health. The letters are held atDevon Record Office as part of the Simcoe Family papers (REF:1038M).
John Pollexfen Bastard—John Bastard RN and Edmund Pollexfen Bastard—Edmund Bastard
| Pollexfen Bastard | Bridget Poulett | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| William Bastard 1727–1782 | Anne Worsley | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| John Pollexfen Bastard 1756–1816 | Edmund Bastard 1758–1816 | Jane Pownoll | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Edmund Pollexfen Bastard 1784–1838 | John Bastard RN 1787–1835 | Rev Philemon Pownoll Bastard 1792–1846 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forTruro 1783–1784 (withBamber Gascoyne) | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDevonshire 1784–1800 (withJohn Rolle, to 1796; SirLawrence Palk, from 1796) | Succeeded by (self in Parliament of the United Kingdom) |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
| Preceded by (self in Parliament of Great Britain) | Member of Parliament forDevonshire 1801–1816 (with SirLawrence Palk, to 1812; SirThomas Dyke Acland, from 1812) | Succeeded by |