John Tempest, Sr.

Who was John Tempest, Sr.?

John Tempest of Sherburn and Wynyard, County Durham was a landowner and Member of Parliament.

Tempest was a member of the Old Durham branch of the Tempest family, the son of John Tempest and Jane Wharton. His family's extensive landed interests, including the manors of Wynyard, The Isle, Kelloe, Old Durham, Brancepeth and Rainton, helped make them among the largest shippers of coal via Sunderland in the late 18th century. He represented the City of Durham in the Parliaments of 1741,1747,1754 and 1761.

He married Frances Shuttleworth, on 5 September 1738. Their son John Tempest, Jr. succeeded him in Parliament. Tempest Sr. was an ancestor of the Vane-Tempest-Stewarts, Earls Vane and Marquesses of Londonderry.