Sir Charles Asgill, 1st Baronet (17 March 1713 – 15 September 1788), merchant banker, was the third son of Henry Asgill, silkman, of St Clement Danes

St Clement Danes

St Clement Danes is a church in the City of Westminster, London. It is situated outside the Royal Courts of Justice on the Strand. The current building was completed in 1682 by Sir Christopher Wren and it now functions as the central church of the Royal Air Force.The church is sometimes claimed to...

, Middlesex

Middlesex

Middlesex is one of the historic counties of England and the second smallest by area. The low-lying county contained the wealthy and politically independent City of London on its southern boundary and was dominated by it from a very early time...

 and was educated at Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

.

Apprenticed to the banking house of William Pepys & Co. he later became a partner in the firm of Vere and Asgill, bankers of Lombard Street in 1740. Alderman of Candlewick Ward (1749–1771) Asgill was also Master of the Skinners Company (1749), a Governor of Bridewell Royal Hospital (1743–1750), Sheriff of the City of London (1753) and Lord Mayor of London

Lord Mayor of London

The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of London is the legal title for the Mayor of the City of London Corporation. The Lord Mayor of London is to be distinguished from the Mayor of London; the former is an officer only of the City of London, while the Mayor of London is the Mayor of Greater London and...

 (1757–1758).

Created a Baronet in 1761 Asgill married (1st) Hannah Vanderstegen and (2nd) Sarah Theresa Pratviel. The Lord Mayor's Coach, still in use today, was built for his inauguration and Asgill House

Asgill House

Richmond Place, now known as Asgill House, is an 18th century riverside Palladian villa in Richmond, Surrey, on the former site of the brewhouse for the medieval and Tudor Richmond Palace...

 (on part of the former site of Richmond Palace

Richmond Palace

Richmond Palace was a Thameside royal residence on the right bank of the river, upstream of the Palace of Westminster, to which it lay 9 miles SW of as the crow flies. It it was erected c. 1501 within the royal manor of Sheen, by Henry VII of England, formerly known by his title Earl of Richmond,...

) was designed for him by the architect Sir Robert Taylor

Robert Taylor (architect)

Sir Robert Taylor was a notable English architect of the mid-late 18th century.Born at Woodford, Essex, Taylor followed in his father's footsteps and started working as a stonemason and sculptor, spending time as a pupil of Sir Henry Cheere...

 as a weekend and holiday villa, his London residence being in Portman Square

Portman Square

Portman Square is a square in London, part of the Portman Estate. It is located at the western end of Wigmore Street, which connects it to Cavendish Square to its east. It is served by London bus route 274...

.

Asgill's obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine stated that "he was a strong instance of what may be effected even by moderate abilities, when united with strict integrity, industry and irreproachable character." Asgill, who died leaving a large fortune was succeeded by his only son Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet

Sir Charles Asgill, 2nd Baronet

Sir Charles Asgill 2nd Baronet GCH was a career soldier in the British Army. Asgill enjoyed a long military career, eventually rising to the rank of General...

, a general in the Army.

Sources

• Corporation of London Record Office:
• City Freedom papers for June 1737 for Charles Asgill;
• A.B.Beaven, The Alderman of the City of London;
• Skinners' Company Freedom Admissions 1724-1764;
• Burke's, Extinct and Dormant Baronetcies;
• G.E. Cockayne, Complete Baronetage;
• Gentleman's Magazine 1788, p841;
• Musgrave's Obituaries;
• Boyd's London Burials 1538-1853.
• Bridewell Royal Hospital: Minutes of Court of Governors.