171:, and there was talk that he would be offered an Irish peerage. However, he lost his office as deputy-commissary of musters when the Shelburne group joined the opposition at the end of 1763, and the vindictive Fox considered attempting to have him dismissed also from some of his regimental agencies; but in any case, he soon after retired from the agency business and turned his attention to finding a seat in Parliament. In 1765 he acquired
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91:(1747–56), paymaster of widow's pensions (1757–62) and deputy-commissary of musters (1756–63). All of these posts offered lucrative opportunities for enrichment, both legitimate and less so. As well as the functions directly arising from the offices he held, he was involved with the rebuilding of
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Calcraft married a wife, Bridget, in 1744, but they soon separated and he seems to have been able to conceal her existence, for in 1762 there was speculation about his intentions to marry a Miss
Wriothesley; nevertheless, she survived him and made a successful claim against his estate after his
190:, and Calcraft stood on the independent interest but was narrowly defeated by the government candidate; Rochester was generally considered to be a safe government borough, and a less wealthy candidate would have had no chance. In April the following year, however, he was returned as member for
99:, and became agent to many regiments of the army, a role with both administrative and financial responsibilities and offering considerable opportunity for profit if ably handled. By 1761, he was acting for no less than 49 colonels. Calcraft amassed a considerable fortune.
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Calcraft was by now one of the most influential behind-the-scenes figures in
British politics, working hand-in-glove with Fox, and was particularly deeply involved in the discussions to construct a government following the fall of
131:. He quickly set out to buy further property which would increase his influence in each borough: he was unsuccessful at Corfe Castle, but acquired sufficient sway at Poole to secure the election of his brother,
202:, where he was duly elected. Nevertheless, after Chatham's resignation he consistently spoke and voted with the Opposition. He was also an enthusiastic supporter of Parliamentary Reform. He died in 1772.
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79:, to whom he was apparently related. (The nature of the relationship was never made clear, and insinuations were made that he was Fox's natural son.) Calcraft was deputy paymaster of the
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in Kent and made considerable improvements and additions to the house and its grounds. On his death on 1772, he devised it with the rest of his estates, to his eldest son,
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ministry in the House. At the end of the
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death. They had no children, but he had illegitimate children with at least two other women, Mrs
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Double portrait of John
Calcraft and Elizabeth Bride, with whom he had a longstanding affair.
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63:, Calcraft set out on a career as an army contractor under the patronage of Grantham's
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in 1763. But at this point he fell out with Fox, who he believed should give up the
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Parishes: Leeds, The
History and Topographical Survey of the County of Kent
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Members of the
Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
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310:: Volume 5 (1798), pp. 478-502. Retrieved 07 December 2010
71:, at this period a rising army officer, and of one of the
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The
History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754–1790
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In 1757 Calcraft purchased an estate at
Rempstone on the
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The
Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III
143:. In 1760 he bought a further estate, at Ingress near
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Members of the
Parliament of Great Britain for Calne
215:and Mrs Elizabeth Bride, both actresses. He made
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297:(2nd edition – London: St Martin's Press, 1957)
115:, which gave him an interest in three nearby
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47:, was an English army agent and politician.
259:. London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
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163:, and became more closely associated with
39:(1726 – 23 August 1772), of Rempstone in
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250:"Calcraft, John (1726-1772)"
87:, and subsequently a clerk in the
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256:Dictionary of National Biography
55:The son of an attorney who was
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