Sir Edward Knatchbull, 8th Baronet (22 May 1758 – 1 September 1819) was a British

Great Britain

Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 politician and baronet.

Background

He was the only surviving son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet

Sir Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet

Sir Edward Knatchbull, 7th Baronet was an Irish politician.He was the third son of Sir Edward Knatchbull, 4th Baronet and Alice Wyndham, daughter of Colonel John Wyndham. In 1763, he succeeded his nephew Wyndham as baronet...

 and his wife Grace Legge, second daughter of William Legge. In 1789, he succeeded his father as baronet. Knatchbull was educated at Tunbridge

Tunbridge

Tunbridge may refer to:* Tunbridge, Tasmania, Australia* The old spelling of Tonbridge, UK* Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK* Tunbridge, Vermont, USA...

 and Winchester School. He matriculated at Christ Church College, Oxford in 1777 and received a Doctorate of Civil Law by the University of Oxford

University of Oxford

The University of Oxford is a university located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It is the second-oldest surviving university in the world and the oldest in the English-speaking world. Although its exact date of foundation is unclear, there is evidence of teaching as far back as 1096...

 in 1810.

Career

Knatchbull was High Sheriff of Kent

High Sheriff of Kent

The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere or are now defunct, so that its functions...

 in 1785. He entered the British House of Commons

British House of Commons

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...

 in 1790, sitting for Kent

Kent (UK Parliament constituency)

Kent was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Kent in southeast England. It returned two "knights of the shire" to the House of Commons by the bloc vote system from the year 1290...

 until 1802. He represented the constituency as 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,...

 (MP) again from 1806 until his death in 1819.

Family

In July 1780, he married firstly Mary Hugessen, daughter of William Western Hugessen, and had by her a son and two daughters. She died in 1784 and Knatchbull married secondly Frances Graham, daughter of John Graham on 2 June 1785. They had nine children, five sons and four daughters. After her death in 1799, Knatchbull married finally Mary Hawkins, daughter of Thomas Hawkins at St George's, Hanover Square on 13 April 1801. By his third wife he had seven children.

Knatchbull died aged 61, after a short illness, at his son's house at Provender, Kent and was buried in Mersham

Mersham

Mersham is a small village and civil parish, three miles east of Willesborough and the town of Ashford in the county of Kent.-History:Historically Mersham has been a farming community with close ties to the local market town of Ashford. The small village dates back to Saxon times and is mentioned...

. He was succeeded in the baronetcy by his oldest son Edward. A younger son was probably John Knatchbull, a naval captain and convict found guilty of murder in 1844; who was one of the earliest to raise in a British court the plea of moral insanity (unsuccessfully).