Sussex Westbourne - "high trust and emolument" but no scruples
Richard Barwell (1804) on monument by his friend J Nollekens with cornucopia and elephant -
"This monument is dedicated to the memory of Richard Barwell esqre of Stanstead Park in the county of Sussex; who in the service of the Honorable East India Company, during a period of 23 years, attained to such situations of high trust and emolument, as his talents and unblemished reputation most justly entitled him, with an understanding strong and cultivated, and a mind open and honourable, were united other qualities rare and estimable; and by all who could appreciate affection towards his family, attachment to his friends, and benevolence widely spread around, he was respected when living and died lamented on the second day of September 1804 in the sixty second year of his age"
Richard Barwell (8 October 1741 – 2 September 1804) was a merchant with the East India Company who amassed one of the largest fortunes in early British India.
He was the son of William Barwell, governor of Bengal in 1748, and afterwards a director of the East India Company and Sheriff of Surrey in 1768. , by 3rd wife Elizabeth Pierce of Calcutta.
Richard was educated in England at Westminster School then joined the East India Company and returned to Calcutta in 1758.
Vast fortunes could be made in India and Richard did not scruple to benefit from his position within the company. In the 1760s he chose his half-sister, Mary Barwell, to manage his financial affairs in England. In 1766 she began investing in stocks for Richard and was to become the Barwell family's leading adviser in matters of money.
In 1773 the Government in London passed the Regulating Act which appointed Warren Hastings, then Governor of Bengal to be Governor General of Bengal, subsuming the Governments of Madras and Bombay. The executive council appointed to assist him consisted of Richard, Lt-Gen John Clavering, George Monson and Philip Francis. Clavering, Monson and Francis had been sent out from England so it is perhaps not surprising that Richard should become a firm supporter of Hastings in his disagreements with them.
Barwell has been cited for sharp business practices. Writing in the Cambridge History of India, H.H. Dodwell says:
"He made a great fortune in India, and, as Sir James Stephen says, this fact of itself raises a presumption against his official purity. ... his standard was low. We find him writing to his sister in 1769: "I would spend 5,000 to secure to myself the chiefship of Dacca, and to supervise. the collection of the revenues of that province". In another letter he states that he considers himself justified in evading the law which prohibited the Company's servants from trading, by engaging in salt contracts under the names of native Indians.
A scandalous story about him is found in a rare book entitled The Intrigues of a Nabob; or Bengal the fittest Soil for the Growth of Lust, Injustice, and Dishonesty It alleges that Barwell had enticed away the writer's mistress, who passed at Calcutta for his wife and then discontinued an annuity promised to the writer as the price of his acquiescence.
While member of council he was accused of deriving an illicit profit of 20,000 a year from certain salt contracts. His prosecution was ordered by the court of directors, but the proceedings fell through. In connection with this affair he fought a bloodless duel with General Clavering. Francis and Barwell were antagonists at the whist-table, where Francis is said to have won 20,000 at a sitting. In 1780, after a truce between Hastings and Francis, Barwell retired from the service.
From India he allegedly brought back one of the largest fortunes ever accumulated with rumours suggesting an estimate of about £400,000 (equivalent to about £25 million at today's prices
In 1781 he bought the estate of Stansted Park in Sussex from the trustees of the Earl of Halifax for £102,500 and subsequently added to his possessions in that county. He enlarged and remodelled Stansted House "in a style of expense which contributed to exhaust the oriental treasures by which it was supplied.' Architects, Bonomi and James Wyatt were employed on the work for 5 years, while Capability Brown laid out the grounds.
In 1781 Barwell was returned as tory M.P. for Helston, in 1784 for St Ives, and in 1790 and 1796 for Winchelsea, but in December 1796 he resigned from his parliamentary seat.
In 1776 aged 34 he m1 in St. John's Church Calcutta, 22 year old Elizabeth daughter of Robert Sanderson, another official of the East India Company. The couple lived in grand style
Children
1. Richard 1777 - 1800
2 Edward James 1778.
Elizabeth soon after presumably following childbirth complications in November 1778 and Richard determined to return to England which he did in February 1780, spurred on, perhaps, by the fact that he was facing charges of fraud
There is a portrait of Barwell, seated in his library with this son by his side, was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Barwell
On 24 June 1785 aged 44 he m2 Catherine (1769-1847) 'a very pretty little girl not 16, of American extraction'. the orphan daughter of Nathaniel Coffin of Bristol, formerly cashier of customs, Boston, Mass., & Elizabeth 1784 daughter of John Barnes of Maryland
Children
1. Edward Richard 1786 - 1846
2. Charles Richard 1788 - 1836 m Ellen Fulcher
3. Arthur Champion 1789 - 1858 m Elizabeth Martin
4. Frederick Bensley 1790 - 1846
5. Catherine b/d 1791
6. Thomas Smith 1796 - 1869 m Amelia Cline
7. William George b 1798
8. Emily Sophia Moubrey b 1799
9. Georgiana Browne b 1800
10. Augustus Leycester 1802 - 1844 m Ellen daughter of Sarah & Edward Coleman
(Till a fortnight before his 2nd marriage he was keeping a very beautiful mistress close to his park, by whom he has several children, and till very lately he declared most strongly against matrimony This was a Mrs Seaforth, an assumed name for Rebecca Lyne 1764 - 1851 a relative of John Lyne one of Richard's tenants who was one of the witnesses of his will.
She had 1 son and 3 daughters by him including
1. Louisa b 1790 ).
Shortly after his death his estates in Sussex were sold by his trustees
His memorial inscription is in stark contrast to the views of William Hickey as published in the second volume of his
'Memoirs; 'Mr Barwell made it his study to render himself obnoxious to persons of all ranks, shutting up gates and paths through the park that had, as an indulgence, been always open to the public; prevented the poor from providing themselves from a spring they had been used to frequent, in
short doing everything illiberal and ill natured. His very name from such conduct, soon was held in such detestation that men, women and children hissed and hooted at him as he passed in all his oriental status through the village'. - Of the real Richard Barwell , we know he was wealthy, that this wealth was not entirely the product of endeavour; we know he treated some of his tenants with arrogance and disregard, we know he had little time for incipient democracy other than
how it might serve his own interests, and scant regard for Parliamentary institutions, at one time refusing to attend a House of Common hearing into Indian affairs. His legacy was the refurbishment of Stansted House, undertaken at great cost on his fortune and liability on his estate. Sadly that building no longer survives; it was destroyed by fire on the evening of Friday3rd August 1900.
His widow Catherine aged 42 m2 1811 in Warblington, Edward Miller Mundy MP having a son
Robert Miller Mundy JP., KCMG (bef. 1813 - 1892) m Isabella (1819 - 1906) daughter of Edward William Leyborne-Popham and Elizabeth Andrew
- Westbourne church Sussex
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Barwell
emsworthmuseum.org.uk/emcms/files/original/54b685cd3fe8de... family-tree.cobboldfht.com/biographies/7439/catherine-coffin
www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member... www.wikitree.com/wiki/Coffin-2773 www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barwell-127
Sussex Westbourne - "high trust and emolument" but no scruples
Richard Barwell (1804) on monument by his friend J Nollekens with cornucopia and elephant -
"This monument is dedicated to the memory of Richard Barwell esqre of Stanstead Park in the county of Sussex; who in the service of the Honorable East India Company, during a period of 23 years, attained to such situations of high trust and emolument, as his talents and unblemished reputation most justly entitled him, with an understanding strong and cultivated, and a mind open and honourable, were united other qualities rare and estimable; and by all who could appreciate affection towards his family, attachment to his friends, and benevolence widely spread around, he was respected when living and died lamented on the second day of September 1804 in the sixty second year of his age"
Richard Barwell (8 October 1741 – 2 September 1804) was a merchant with the East India Company who amassed one of the largest fortunes in early British India.
He was the son of William Barwell, governor of Bengal in 1748, and afterwards a director of the East India Company and Sheriff of Surrey in 1768. , by 3rd wife Elizabeth Pierce of Calcutta.
Richard was educated in England at Westminster School then joined the East India Company and returned to Calcutta in 1758.
Vast fortunes could be made in India and Richard did not scruple to benefit from his position within the company. In the 1760s he chose his half-sister, Mary Barwell, to manage his financial affairs in England. In 1766 she began investing in stocks for Richard and was to become the Barwell family's leading adviser in matters of money.
In 1773 the Government in London passed the Regulating Act which appointed Warren Hastings, then Governor of Bengal to be Governor General of Bengal, subsuming the Governments of Madras and Bombay. The executive council appointed to assist him consisted of Richard, Lt-Gen John Clavering, George Monson and Philip Francis. Clavering, Monson and Francis had been sent out from England so it is perhaps not surprising that Richard should become a firm supporter of Hastings in his disagreements with them.
Barwell has been cited for sharp business practices. Writing in the Cambridge History of India, H.H. Dodwell says:
"He made a great fortune in India, and, as Sir James Stephen says, this fact of itself raises a presumption against his official purity. ... his standard was low. We find him writing to his sister in 1769: "I would spend 5,000 to secure to myself the chiefship of Dacca, and to supervise. the collection of the revenues of that province". In another letter he states that he considers himself justified in evading the law which prohibited the Company's servants from trading, by engaging in salt contracts under the names of native Indians.
A scandalous story about him is found in a rare book entitled The Intrigues of a Nabob; or Bengal the fittest Soil for the Growth of Lust, Injustice, and Dishonesty It alleges that Barwell had enticed away the writer's mistress, who passed at Calcutta for his wife and then discontinued an annuity promised to the writer as the price of his acquiescence.
While member of council he was accused of deriving an illicit profit of 20,000 a year from certain salt contracts. His prosecution was ordered by the court of directors, but the proceedings fell through. In connection with this affair he fought a bloodless duel with General Clavering. Francis and Barwell were antagonists at the whist-table, where Francis is said to have won 20,000 at a sitting. In 1780, after a truce between Hastings and Francis, Barwell retired from the service.
From India he allegedly brought back one of the largest fortunes ever accumulated with rumours suggesting an estimate of about £400,000 (equivalent to about £25 million at today's prices
In 1781 he bought the estate of Stansted Park in Sussex from the trustees of the Earl of Halifax for £102,500 and subsequently added to his possessions in that county. He enlarged and remodelled Stansted House "in a style of expense which contributed to exhaust the oriental treasures by which it was supplied.' Architects, Bonomi and James Wyatt were employed on the work for 5 years, while Capability Brown laid out the grounds.
In 1781 Barwell was returned as tory M.P. for Helston, in 1784 for St Ives, and in 1790 and 1796 for Winchelsea, but in December 1796 he resigned from his parliamentary seat.
In 1776 aged 34 he m1 in St. John's Church Calcutta, 22 year old Elizabeth daughter of Robert Sanderson, another official of the East India Company. The couple lived in grand style
Children
1. Richard 1777 - 1800
2 Edward James 1778.
Elizabeth soon after presumably following childbirth complications in November 1778 and Richard determined to return to England which he did in February 1780, spurred on, perhaps, by the fact that he was facing charges of fraud
There is a portrait of Barwell, seated in his library with this son by his side, was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Barwell
On 24 June 1785 aged 44 he m2 Catherine (1769-1847) 'a very pretty little girl not 16, of American extraction'. the orphan daughter of Nathaniel Coffin of Bristol, formerly cashier of customs, Boston, Mass., & Elizabeth 1784 daughter of John Barnes of Maryland
Children
1. Edward Richard 1786 - 1846
2. Charles Richard 1788 - 1836 m Ellen Fulcher
3. Arthur Champion 1789 - 1858 m Elizabeth Martin
4. Frederick Bensley 1790 - 1846
5. Catherine b/d 1791
6. Thomas Smith 1796 - 1869 m Amelia Cline
7. William George b 1798
8. Emily Sophia Moubrey b 1799
9. Georgiana Browne b 1800
10. Augustus Leycester 1802 - 1844 m Ellen daughter of Sarah & Edward Coleman
(Till a fortnight before his 2nd marriage he was keeping a very beautiful mistress close to his park, by whom he has several children, and till very lately he declared most strongly against matrimony This was a Mrs Seaforth, an assumed name for Rebecca Lyne 1764 - 1851 a relative of John Lyne one of Richard's tenants who was one of the witnesses of his will.
She had 1 son and 3 daughters by him including
1. Louisa b 1790 ).
Shortly after his death his estates in Sussex were sold by his trustees
His memorial inscription is in stark contrast to the views of William Hickey as published in the second volume of his
'Memoirs; 'Mr Barwell made it his study to render himself obnoxious to persons of all ranks, shutting up gates and paths through the park that had, as an indulgence, been always open to the public; prevented the poor from providing themselves from a spring they had been used to frequent, in
short doing everything illiberal and ill natured. His very name from such conduct, soon was held in such detestation that men, women and children hissed and hooted at him as he passed in all his oriental status through the village'. - Of the real Richard Barwell , we know he was wealthy, that this wealth was not entirely the product of endeavour; we know he treated some of his tenants with arrogance and disregard, we know he had little time for incipient democracy other than
how it might serve his own interests, and scant regard for Parliamentary institutions, at one time refusing to attend a House of Common hearing into Indian affairs. His legacy was the refurbishment of Stansted House, undertaken at great cost on his fortune and liability on his estate. Sadly that building no longer survives; it was destroyed by fire on the evening of Friday3rd August 1900.
His widow Catherine aged 42 m2 1811 in Warblington, Edward Miller Mundy MP having a son
Robert Miller Mundy JP., KCMG (bef. 1813 - 1892) m Isabella (1819 - 1906) daughter of Edward William Leyborne-Popham and Elizabeth Andrew
- Westbourne church Sussex
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Barwell
emsworthmuseum.org.uk/emcms/files/original/54b685cd3fe8de... family-tree.cobboldfht.com/biographies/7439/catherine-coffin
www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1754-1790/member... www.wikitree.com/wiki/Coffin-2773 www.wikitree.com/wiki/Barwell-127