FULLER, John (1756-1834), of Rose Hill, Suss.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1754-1790, ed. L. Namier, J. Brooke., 1964
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

29 Jan. 1780 - 1784
16 July 1801 - 1812

Family and Education

b. c.1756, o.s. of Rev. Henry Fuller by a da. of Thomas Fuller of Catsfield. educ. Eton 1767-74. unm. suc. his uncle Rose Fuller at Rose Hill and in Jamaica plantations 1777.

Offices Held

Biography

Fanny Burney wrote in 1779 about Fuller and his interest in the militia:

Captain Fuller ... has an estate of £4000 or £5000 a year, is but just of age, has figure, understanding, education, vivacity, and independence, and yet voluntarily devotes almost all his time, and almost all his attention to a company of light infantry.

Mrs. Thrale described him in Thraliana (29 Jan. 1781) as ‘wild, gay, rich, loud’; and wrote in a letter to Fanny Burney, 7 Feb. 1781: ‘Captain Fuller flashes away among us. How that boy loves rough merriment! the people all seem to keep out of his way for fear.’1

On the death of Hans Stanley, his cousin and heir Hans Sloane, who was married to Fuller’s sister, returned him on the Stanley interest at Southampton; and at the general election the same year the two were returned on a joint interest with Government support. In the House Fuller voted regularly with the North Administration to the very end. He voted for Shelburne’s peace preliminaries, 18 Feb. 1783, and was listed by Robinson in March 1783 among the country gentlemen of ‘doubtful allegiance.’ Absent from the first division on Fox’s East India bill, he voted against it in the second division; and appears as a friend of Pitt in the list of 19 Mar. 1784. Yet he was opposed by the Government at Southampton at the general election, and withdrew without a contest. Only two interventions of his in debate are recorded, both in his first session (9 Feb. and 5 June 1780) and both on minor personal points.

He died 11 Apr. 1834.

Ref Volumes: 1754-1790

Author: Sir Lewis Namier

Notes

  • 1. Diary and Letters, i. 223, 461.