John Call
Sir John Call, Bt | |
|---|---|
 1779 oil painting of Sir John Call with Bodmin Jail in the background, artist unknown | |
| Member of Parliament forCallington | |
| In office 1784–1801 Serving withPaul Orchard | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 30 June 1731 Fenny Park,Tiverton,Devon,Great Britain |
| Died | 1 March 1801 (aged 69) Old Burlington Street,London,UK |
| Resting place | St Margaret's old churchyard,Lee,Kent (now in the borough of Lewisham) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Kingdom of Great Britain |
| Branch/service | British Army |
| Years of service | 1748-1766 |
| Rank | Captain General |
| Unit |  British East India Company |
Sir John Call, 1st Baronet(30 June 1731 – 1 March 1801) was anEnglishengineerandbaronet.
He was born at Fenny Park,Tiverton,Devon,educated atBlundell's Schooland went toIndiaat the age of 17 withBenjamin Robins,the chief engineer and captain-general of artillery in theEast India Company's settlements. After the death of Robins, Call became engineer-in-chief, and eventually chief engineer with a seat on the Governor's Council.Robert Clivestrongly recommended Call for the Governorship ofMadras,but he had to return to England on the death of his father on 31 December 1766.[1]
On his return, he becameHigh Sheriff of Cornwallfor 1771–72 and was elected MP forCallingtonin 1784, a seat he held until his death. In 1784 he also became a partner in the Pybus and Son banking house and was created the 1st Baronet Call in 1791.[2][3]
Call builtWhiteford HousenearStoke Climsland,Cornwall (demolished in 1913)[4]and the nearby folly, Whiteford Temple, now owned by theLandmark Trust.[5]He also built the reproduction Civil War fort on the summit ofKit Hilland was responsible for the construction ofBodmin Gaolin 1779.
He was elected aFellow of the Royal Societyin 1775,[3]and a Fellow of theSociety of Antiquariesin 1785.[6]
He married Philadelphia, the daughter and coheiress of William Batty of Kingston upon Thames; they had two sons and four daughters. His eldest son,William Pratt Call,succeeded him, becoming the 2nd Baronet Call on his father's death in 1801.[7] He became blind seven years before he died, ofapoplexy,at his home in Old Burlington Street, London, and was buried at St Margaret's old churchyard,Lee,Kent (now in the borough of Lewisham), where there is a grade II* listed monument to his memory.[8]
References[edit]
- ^[1]Archived29 September 2007 at theWayback Machine
- ^"No. 13318".The London Gazette.18 June 1791. p. 363.
- ^ab"Library and Archive catalog".Royal Society.Retrieved28 March2012.
- ^[2]Archived14 September 2007 at theWayback Machine
- ^"The Landmark Trust".Landmarktrust.org.uk. Archived fromthe originalon 10 January 2015.Retrieved10 January2015.
- ^D. L. Prior, 'Call, Sir John, first baronet (1732–1801)’,Oxford Dictionary of National Biography,Oxford University Press,September 2004; online edn, January 2008Retrieved 18 September 2008
- ^"CALL, John (1732-1801), of Whiteford, nr. Callington, Cornw".History of Parliament Online.Retrieved5 December2012.
- ^Cokayne, G.E., ed. (1906).The Complete Baronetage, Volume V.Pollard & Company. p. 272.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
- 1732 births
- 1801 deaths
- People from Tiverton, Devon
- People educated at Blundell's School
- Engineers from Devon
- Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
- Fellows of the Royal Society
- Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London
- British East India Company Army officers
- Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Callington
- British MPs 1784–1790
- British MPs 1790–1796
- British MPs 1796–1800
- High Sheriffs of Cornwall
- Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Callington
- UK MPs 1801–1802