John Talbot (judge)

The Honourable John Talbot (c. 1712 – 23 September 1756) was a British judge and Member of Parliament.

Talbot was the third son of Charles Talbot, 1st Baron Talbot, who served as Lord Chancellor from 1733 to 1737. Training as a lawyer, John entered Lincoln's Inn in 1734, in which year he was appointed Recorder of Brecon, in which post he served until 1745, and was also elected Member of Parliament for the borough.

He was not called to the bar until 1737. On May 30 of that year, he married Henrietta Decker (d. 1747), the daughter of Sir Matthew Decker, 1st Baronet; the marriage was childless. In 1740 he was appointed Puisne Justice of Chester, holding the post until his death.

In August 1748, Talbot married Hon. Catherine Chetwynd, daughter of John Chetwynd, 2nd Viscount Chetwynd. They had four sons:

• John Chetwynd-Talbot, 1st Earl Talbot (1749–1793)
• Capt. William Henry Talbot (died 1782)
• Rev. George Talbot, married Anne Beauclerk, daughter of Col. Lord Henry Beauclerk, in 1794
• Lt-Col. Charles Talbot (died 1804)

In 1754, feeling that his position in Brecon was no longer secure, he persuaded the Prime Minister to find him a seat elsewhere, and was proposed instead for Ilchester; his election here cost £2,000, though half the cost was met from the government's secret service funds.

In December 1755, Talbot was made a junior Lord of Trade, and was again returned at the ensuing by-election at Ilchester. He died the following year.

References

• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Lewis Namier & John Brooke, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1754-1790 (London: HMSO, 1964)