John Selwyn (1688–1751)

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Colonel John Selwyn (20 August 1688 – 5 November 1751) of Matson, Gloucestershire, was a British Army officer, courtier and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1715 to 1751. He was the eldest son of Lieutenant-general William Selwyn, MP of Matson.

Selwyn joined the Army as an infant, becoming an ensign and lieutenant in the 3rd Foot Guards on 31 December 1688. His father died in 1702 while Governor of Jamaica, and John inherited the Matson estate. He rose through the ranks, becoming captain and lieutenant-colonel in the 1st Foot Guards in 1707 and serving in Flanders as aide-de-camp to the Duke of Marlborough. By 1709 he had married Mary Farrington, the daughter of Lieutenant-general Thomas Farrington MP of Chislehurst. He was Colonel of the 3rd Regiment of Foot from 1711 to 1713.

In 1715 Selwyn was elected MP for Truro and also became Commissioner of the Equivalent. He was made clerk of the household to the Prince of Wales in 1716, helped by Lord Townshend. In 1717 he joined Townshend in opposition and lost his Commissioner post. He became Groom of the Bedchamber to the Prince of Wales in 1718. When the Whigs reunited in 1720, he was appointed Receiver General and Comptroller of Customs, but had to give up his seat in Parliament in February 1721 and did not stand in 1722.

In 1726 Selwyn bought property at Whitchurch, which gave him a seat in Parliament. He served as Mayor of Gloucester in 1727 and, after passing the Receivership to his brother, returned himself as MP for Whitchurch in the 1727 election. After the Prince of Wales became King George II in 1727, Selwyn continued as Groom of the Bedchamber until 1730, when he became treasurer of the Queen’s Household, handling payments for the royal households and offices.

He was a member of the gaols committee (jails) in 1729–1730. In 1733 he bought the manor of Ludgershall, increasing his influence in Gloucester. He was Mayor of Gloucester again in 1734 and was elected MP for Gloucester in the 1734 general election. He spoke in support of the colony of Georgia in a 1738 debate on army estimates and generally voted with the Government. He was re-elected MP for Gloucester in 1741.

Selwyn was appointed paymaster of the Marines in 1746, but did not take the post until the 1747 general election to avoid a by-election; the post ended when the Marines were disbanded in 1748. In May 1751 he was made treasurer to the Prince of Wales. He died on 5 November 1751. He had two sons and a daughter, but his elder son John had died earlier, so his estate went to his second son, George Augustus Selwyn.