Sir James Knott, 1st Baronet

Sir James Knott, 1st Baronet (31 January 1855 – 8 June 1934)[1] was a shipping magnate (Prince Steam Shipping Company Ltd. (Prince Line)) and Conservative Party politician in the north-east of England.

Sir James Knott, 1st Baronet
Member of Parliament for Sunderland
In office January 1910 – December 1910 Serving with Samuel Storey
Preceded by	James Stuart
Succeeded by	Sir Frank Goldstone
Personal details
Born	(1855-01-31)31 January 1855 Howdon, Tyne and Wear, England
Died	8 June 1934(1934-06-08) (aged 79)
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Margaret Annie Garbutt Elizabeth Chystie Gauntlett
Children	Thomas Garbutt James Leadbitter (d.1916) Henry Basil (d.1915)
Occupation	Shipbroker

Several institutions in the north-east of England are named after him, such as the Knott Memorial Hall in Heddon-on-the-Wall.[2]

Career

He was an unsuccessful candidate at the 1906 general election in the Tyneside division of Northumberland.[3]

At the January 1910 general election he was elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for the two-seat constituency of Sunderland,[4] along with Samuel Storey (who had been MP for the constituency from 1881 to 1895). Storey was an "Independent Tariff Reform" candidate (i.e. opposed to free trade), but his candidacy had the full support of the local Conservative association and his return of election expenses was made jointly with Knott, who was the official Conservative candidate.[4] They both stood down because of ill-health at the general election in December 1910.

He was made a baronet in 1917, of Close House, Northumberland.[5]

Family

The building of the Arts & Crafts Church of St James and St Basil, Fenham, was funded by Knott in memory of his sons killed in the war.[6]

Two of his three sons died at young age in the Great War, Henry (known as Basil) in 1915 followed by James in 1916.

He was succeeded at his death by his surviving son, Sir Thomas Garbutt Knott (1879-1949), as 2nd Baronet and who died without children.

Samarès Manor

In 1924, he moved to Jersey, purchased Samarès Manor and became the Seigneur of Samarès.[7]

Death duties

Knott family gravestone in the churchyard in St Clement, Jersey

On 13 November 1934, John Stourton, MP for Salford South, asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether an agreement had been reached over payment of death duties on Knott's £5m estate. Neville Chamberlain replied that he "was not prepared to disclose information as to the position in regard to taxation in a particular case.".[8]

The room which commemorates Sir James in the Literary and Philosophical Society building, Newcastle upon Tyne

References

1. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "S" (part 6)
2. Heddon Village Knott Memorial Hall
3. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1974]. British parliamentary election results 1885–1918 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 363. ISBN 0-900178-27-2.
4. Craig, op. cit., page 197
5. Leigh Rayment's baronetage pages: K
6. "History". St James & St Basil, Fenham. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
7. "The Sir James Knott Trust | Knott family history". Knott-trust.co.uk. Retrieved 11 October 2012.
8. "DEATH DUTIES. (Hansard, 13 November 1934)". Hansard.millbanksystems.com. 13 November 1934. Retrieved 13 June 2013.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by James Knott

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Thomas Summerbell James Stuart	Member of Parliament for Sunderland January 1910 – December 1910 With: Samuel Storey	Succeeded by Frank Goldstone Sir Hamar Greenwood, Bt
Baronetage of the United Kingdom
New creation	Baronet (of Close House, Northumberland) 1917–1934	Succeeded by Thomas Garbutt Knott