Philip Bennet (Bath MP)
Philip Bennet (1703–1761) lived at Widcombe Manor in Bath and owned land in South Brewham and Maperton in Somerset. He was part of the old Bennet family, which traced its roots to Wiltshire and to Robert Bennet, Keeper of the King’s Seal in the late 1100s.
Philip was the Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury from 1734 to 1735 and again from 1738 to 1741, and for Bath from 1741 to 1747. He was the best known Bennet in Bath and, as the firstborn son, was named after his father.
His parents were Philip Bennet and Jane Chapman, who had seven children. One daughter, Jane Bennet, married Philip Allen, the brother of local philanthropist Ralph Allen.
Philip Bennet married twice. His first wife, Anne Estcourt, died in 1730 at age 24, leaving no children. His second wife, Mary Hallam, died in 1739 at age 26. They had three children: Philip, Mary, and Thomas. Both wives have memorial plaques inside St Thomas à Becket Church beside Widcombe Manor, and they are buried in the Bennet family tomb in the churchyard.
A street in Bath, Bennett Street, is named after him (spelled Bennett with two t’s) and runs near Landsdown Road. A later writer noted that after about 1747 he spent his fortune freely in a period of dissipation.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 10:43 (CET).