John Meres
Encyclopedia
Sir John Meres knight, FRS of Kirby Bellars
, Leicestershire
was the director of a number of companies in the early 18th century, including the Charitable Corporation
, the York Buildings Company
, and Company of Mineral and Battery Works
. He was also one of the Six Clerks
in Chancery (a sincecure).
, a Lincolnshire gentleman and for many years Member of Parliament
for Lincoln
and Anne de la Fontaine daughter and heiress of Erasmus de la Fontaine of Kirby Bellars
, Leicestershire
.
on 26 December 1700. In 1704, he was party to a deed with the Hollow Sword Blade Company. In 1721 and 1722 in the wake of the South Sea Bubble, he was in dispute with the Duke of Portland over the sale of £20,000 worth of South Sea Company stock.
He was unanimously elected Governor of the York Buildings Company
on 17 September 1723. That company was originally concerned in water supply, but had in 1719 and 1720 bought various estates (mainly in Scotland), forfeited due to the Jacobite rising
of 1715 for over £308,000. However, following the bursting the South Sea Bubble, they had difficulty in raising the purchase money. In summer 1723, stock of the company, previously cancelled, was reissued, but this depressed the share price further. Following his election, Meres proposed that the company should borrow money from the Charitable Corporation
, issuing bonds to it, but this fell through. Meres then proposed that each member would surrender half his stock, and added a paragraph to the minutes of the York Buildings Company meeting of 21 September 1724 as if this had been agreed, but this was (according to his opponents) objected to when the minutes were read at the next meeting. At the time, he held ten percent of the company's stock. Nevertheless the minutes of that meeting were written up as if it had been agreed. The issue of these bonds apparently did not go ahead, but was being questioned in the Scottish courts in 1729.
Meres was a member of the new Committee of the Charitable Corporation
, elected on 25 October 1725, but left it in December 1729. His position with these two companies no doubt enabled him to organise a financial transaction between them. He was also Subgovernor of the Royal Africa Company.
Kirby Bellars
Kirby Bellars is a village and civil parish near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England.-History:The village is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name of Chirchebi....
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
was the director of a number of companies in the early 18th century, including the Charitable Corporation
Charitable Corporation
The Charitable Corporation was an institution in Britain intended to provide loans at low interest to the deserving poor, including by large-scale pawnbroking. It was established by charter in 1707. Its full title was "Charitable Corporation for the relief of the industrious poor by assisting them...
, the York Buildings Company
York Buildings Company
The York Buildings Company was an English company in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.-Waterworks:The full name of the company was The Governor and Company for raising the Thames Water at York Buildings...
, and Company of Mineral and Battery Works
Company of Mineral and Battery Works
The Company of Mineral and Battery Works was, , one of two mining monopolies created by Queen Elizabeth I of England in the mid-1560s. The Company's rights were based on a patent granted to William Humfrey on 17 September 1565. This was replaced on 28 May 1568 by a patent of incorporation, making...
. He was also one of the Six Clerks
Six Clerks
The Six Clerks’ Office was a public legal office that served the equitable jurisdiction of the English Court of Chancery until the middle of the nineteenth century.-The Office:The Office was situated in Chancery Lane, London, near the Holborn end...
in Chancery (a sincecure).
Background
John Meres was the second son (but main devisee) of Sir Thomas MeresThomas Meres
Thomas Meres was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1659 and 1710.Meres was the eldest son of Robert Meres, DD, of Kirton, Lincolnshire, chancellor of Lincoln cathedral, and his first wife Elizabeth Williams, daughter of Hugh Williams of Wegg. Caernarvonshire. He was...
, a Lincolnshire gentleman and for many years Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
for Lincoln
Lincoln (UK Parliament constituency)
Lincoln is a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election....
and Anne de la Fontaine daughter and heiress of Erasmus de la Fontaine of Kirby Bellars
Kirby Bellars
Kirby Bellars is a village and civil parish near Melton Mowbray in Leicestershire, England.-History:The village is recorded in the Domesday Book under the name of Chirchebi....
, Leicestershire
Leicestershire
Leicestershire is a landlocked county in the English Midlands. It takes its name from the heavily populated City of Leicester, traditionally its administrative centre, although the City of Leicester unitary authority is today administered separately from the rest of Leicestershire...
.
Career
He was knighted by William IIIWilliam III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
on 26 December 1700. In 1704, he was party to a deed with the Hollow Sword Blade Company. In 1721 and 1722 in the wake of the South Sea Bubble, he was in dispute with the Duke of Portland over the sale of £20,000 worth of South Sea Company stock.
He was unanimously elected Governor of the York Buildings Company
York Buildings Company
The York Buildings Company was an English company in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.-Waterworks:The full name of the company was The Governor and Company for raising the Thames Water at York Buildings...
on 17 September 1723. That company was originally concerned in water supply, but had in 1719 and 1720 bought various estates (mainly in Scotland), forfeited due to the Jacobite rising
Jacobite rising
The Jacobite Risings were a series of uprisings, rebellions, and wars in Great Britain and Ireland occurring between 1688 and 1746. The uprisings were aimed at returning James VII of Scotland and II of England, and later his descendants of the House of Stuart, to the throne after he was deposed by...
of 1715 for over £308,000. However, following the bursting the South Sea Bubble, they had difficulty in raising the purchase money. In summer 1723, stock of the company, previously cancelled, was reissued, but this depressed the share price further. Following his election, Meres proposed that the company should borrow money from the Charitable Corporation
Charitable Corporation
The Charitable Corporation was an institution in Britain intended to provide loans at low interest to the deserving poor, including by large-scale pawnbroking. It was established by charter in 1707. Its full title was "Charitable Corporation for the relief of the industrious poor by assisting them...
, issuing bonds to it, but this fell through. Meres then proposed that each member would surrender half his stock, and added a paragraph to the minutes of the York Buildings Company meeting of 21 September 1724 as if this had been agreed, but this was (according to his opponents) objected to when the minutes were read at the next meeting. At the time, he held ten percent of the company's stock. Nevertheless the minutes of that meeting were written up as if it had been agreed. The issue of these bonds apparently did not go ahead, but was being questioned in the Scottish courts in 1729.
Meres was a member of the new Committee of the Charitable Corporation
Charitable Corporation
The Charitable Corporation was an institution in Britain intended to provide loans at low interest to the deserving poor, including by large-scale pawnbroking. It was established by charter in 1707. Its full title was "Charitable Corporation for the relief of the industrious poor by assisting them...
, elected on 25 October 1725, but left it in December 1729. His position with these two companies no doubt enabled him to organise a financial transaction between them. He was also Subgovernor of the Royal Africa Company.