Joseph Eyles

Sir Joseph Eyles (c.16908 February 1740), of Bishopsgate in the City of London, was an English merchant, financier and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1740.

Arms of Eyles: Argent, a fess engrailed sable in chief three fleurs-de-lys of the last[1]

Origins

He was the younger son of Sir Francis Eyles, 1st Baronet (died 1716). His elder brother was Sir John Eyles, 2nd Baronet, also a director of the East India Company.

Career

He was a Turkey Merchant and held extensive commercial interests in the Mediterranean. He was a director of the East India Company 1714-17 and 1721-2, a director of the Bank of England from 1717-21 and a sub-governor of the London Assurance Company.[2]

At the 1722 British general election, Eyles was returned as a Member of Parliament for Devizes, a rotten borough controlled by his family. He voted with the Government in all recorded divisions.[2] He was elected Sheriff of London for 1724 to 1725 and was master of the Haberdashers' Company for the same period. [3] He was knighted on 9 December 1724. At the 1727 British general election he was returned as member for Southwark. He became one of the Government's financial agents, and was again a director of the Bank of England from 1730 to 1733. In July 1730, Pelham, paymaster of the forces, instructed the Treasury board that it should in future receive proposals from Sir Joseph Eyles for the remittances needed for the forces in Minorca, Gibraltar, and foreign service elsewhere. Eyles' only vote against the Government was on the Excise Bill in 1733, which both he and his elder brother, Sir John Eyles, 2nd Baronet, opposed. He was returned as an MP for Devises at the 1734 general election. The only speech he is known to have made was on 30 March 1739, when he seconded a motion for the repeal of the Test Act.[2] He was an alderman of the City of London for Cheapside from 1739 to 1740.[3] He died on 8 February 1740.[2]

Marriage and issue

He married Sarah Jefferies, a daughter of Sir Jeffrey Jefferies, by whom he had a son and two daughters.[2]

References

  1. Burke's General Armory, 1884, p.336
  2. "EYLES, Joseph (c.1690-1740), of Bishopsgate, London". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  3. "Chronological list of aldermen: 1701-1800". British History Online. Retrieved 4 January 2018.
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
Josiah Diston
Benjamin Haskins-Stiles
Member of Parliament for Devizes
17271727
With: Benjamin Haskins-Stiles
Succeeded by
Francis Eyles
Benjamin Haskins-Stiles
Preceded by
John Lade
Edmund Halsey
Member of Parliament for Southwark
17271734
With: Edmund Halsey
Thomas Inwen
Succeeded by
George Heathcote
Thomas Inwen
Preceded by
Francis Eyles
Benjamin Haskins-Stiles
Member of Parliament for Devizes
1734–1740
With: Francis Eyles
Succeeded by
Francis Eyles
John Garth


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