FULLER, John (1706-55), of Brightling, 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

20 Dec. 1754 - 1 Feb. 1755

Family and Education

bap. 8 Feb. 1706, 1st s. of John Fuller, M.P., of Brightling by Elizabeth, da. of Fulke Rose of Jamaica; bro. of Rose Fuller. educ. Trinity, Camb. 1723; M. Temple 1724. m. Miss Darell, s.p.

Offices Held

Biography

At the general election of 1754 Fuller had meant to stand for Sussex, and was said to have the support of Lord Middlesex.1 But on 14 Mar., ‘with the greatest regard to the peace and quiet of the county’, he acquainted the Duke of Newcastle that he would not stand.2 And this is how Fuller described the sequel in a letter to a friend:3 The Duke called in Lord Ashburnham, and said: ‘My Lord, one civility deserves another, I will never be outdone’; and made Ashburnham witness to his voluntary offer that Fuller ‘shall be in the next Parliament chosen by me without expense, and without any constraint upon his actions. He shall come into the House as free and independent as any Member there.’ On a vacancy occurring in Newcastle’s pocket borough of Boroughbridge, Fuller was returned, 20 Dec. 1754, in absentia, his ‘infirm state of health’ not permitting attendance.4  He died 1 Feb. 1755.

Ref Volumes: 1754-1790

Author: Sir Lewis Namier

Notes

  • 1. Halifax to Newcastle, 12 Mar. 1754, Add. 32734, f. 227.
  • 2. Newcastle to Ld. Northampton, 15 Mar., ibid. f. 255.
  • 3. Fuller to H. Dodson, 19 Mar. 1754, ibid. f. 289.
  • 4. Newcastle to the burgesses of Boroughbridge, 6 Dec. 1754, Sir T. Lawson-Tancred, Recs. of a Yorkshire Manor, 293-4.