Sir John Shelley, 5th Baronet (1730 – 11 September 1783), of Michelgrove inSussex, was a British politician who sat in theHouse of Commons from 1751 to 1780.
He was the eldest son ofSir John Shelley, 4th Baronet and Margaret Pelham, two of whose brothers (Henry Pelham andThe Duke of Newcastle) served as BritishPrime Minister. He entered Parliament at a by-election in 1751, probably at the first opportunity once he was legally old enough to do so, asMember of Parliament forEast Retford, a pocket borough owned by his uncle Newcastle; the vacancy arose from the appointment of the sitting MP as a Commissioner of the Excise, quite possibly with the specific intention of freeing the seat for Shelley. He represented this constituency until 1768 when, having fallen out with Newcastle, he moved to represent nearbyNewark (which had once also been under Newcastle's control but now belonged to another of Newcastle's nephews, theEarl of Lincoln, who had also quarrelled with his uncle). He was later also MP forNew Shoreham.
In 1755, on the recommendation of Newcastle (who had become Prime Minister on his brother's death the previous year), Shelley was appointed to the desirable sinecure-for-life ofKeeper of the Records of the Tower of London,[1] worth £420 a year. In 1757 he acquired another lucrative post,Clerk of the Pipe, and in 1766 he becameTreasurer of His Majesty's Household and was appointed to thePrivy Council.
Shelley succeeded to the baronetcy on his father's death on 5 September 1771, taking possession of Michelgrove, Sussex. He married Wilhelmina Newnham (died 1772), daughter of John Newnham of Maresfield Park, by whom he had a son,John, who succeeded him. After the death of his first wife, he married again, to Elizabeth Woodcock, and they had three daughters.
He retired from Parliament in 1780, and died in 1783.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Treasurer of the Household 1766–1777 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Great Britain | ||
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forEast Retford 1751–1768 With:John White | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNewark 1768–1774 With:John Manners | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forNew Shoreham 1774–1780 With:Charles Goring | Succeeded by |
| Baronetage of England | ||
| Preceded by | Baronet (of Michelgrove) 1771–1783 | Succeeded by |
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