SITWELL, Francis (?1776-1813), of Barmoor Castle, Northumb.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1790-1820, ed. R. Thorne, 1986
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

19 Apr. 1803 - 1806

Family and Education

b. ?1776, 2nd s. of Francis Hurt (afterwards Sitwell) of Renishaw Hall, Eckington, Derbys. by Mary, da. of Rev. Richard Warneford of York; bro. of Sitwell Sitwell*. m. 21 Sept. 1795, Ann, da. of Ilay Campbell of Succoth, Argyll, 2s. 3da. suc. fa. at Barmoor 1793.

Offices Held

Maj. Loyal Berwick vols. 1803.

Biography

Sitwell’s father, Francis Hurt, inherited the immense wealth of his kinsmen the Sitwells in 1776, and in 1793 he himself was set up as a Northumbrian country gentleman, under the terms of the will of his father’s cousin Samuel Phipps (d.1791). In 1806 he was described as having ‘lately addicted himself to agricultural pursuits’ and established a cattle show. He entered the House in 1803 at a re-election for the open borough of Berwick, brought forward by Thomas Hall*, whose return at the general election of 1802 had been declared void.

Sitwell did not oppose Addington’s ministry, but was classed as Pittite in the government lists of September 1804 and July 1805 and voted against Whitbread’s motion of censure on Melville, 8 Apr. 1805. He opposed the Grenville ministry on Spencer Stanhope’s motion critical of Ellenborough’s seat in the cabinet, 3 Mar. 1806, but took no part in the division on the repeal of the Additional Force Act, 30 Apr. Sitwell made no reported speech and did not contest Berwick in 1806. He offered instead, as a Pittite, for Haddington Burghs, on the strength of Lord Elcho’s interest at Lauder, but did not go to the poll. He died 18 Feb. 1813, in his 37th year.

J. Wilson, Biog. Index (1806), 495; Newcastle Chron. 23 Apr. 1803; Gent. Mag. (1813), i. 291.

Ref Volumes: 1790-1820

Author: J. M. Collinge

Notes