John Fenton-Cawthorne

Who was John Fenton-Cawthorne?

John Fenton-Cawthorne was a British Conservative politician, who served as MP for Lincoln between 1783 and 1796 and as MP for Lancaster for four terms in the early 19th century.

Fenton-Cawthorne was born in 1753 to James Fenton of Lancaster, a barrister and his wife Elizabeth and educated at Queen’s College, Oxford and Gray's Inn. He succeeded to the Cawthorne estate in 1781 and took the additional surname of Cawthorne.

He was first elected as an MP for Lincoln in January 1783 and was an opponent of the abolition of the slave trade.

In 1796 Fenton-Cawthorne was found guilty by a court martial of various embezzlement charges and expelled from Parliament. It was ruled that he had "acted fraudulently and in a scandalous and infamous manner".

Fenton-Cawthorne returned to Parliament in 1806 as MP for Lancaster. His older brother also entered Parliament at the same time as MP for Fife.

He married Frances, the daughter and coheiress of J. H. Delaval.