Peter Thellusson
Peter Thellusson was a Genevan businessman and banker who settled in London, and became a British subject in 1762. He amassed a fortune through commerce and, when he died in 1797, he owned more than 4,000 acres of land in England. His descendants built the new Brodsworth Hall in South Yorkshire, which is maintained since 1988 by English Heritage.
Early life
Thellusson was a member of a Huguenot family which had fled France for Geneva in the 16th century. He was a son of Isaac de Thellusson and Sarah Thellusson. His father had started a bank in Paris with a branch in Geneva and became the Genevan ambassador to Paris. The French-Genevan banker was Peter Thellesson's older brother.Career
Peter, with the help of his brother George-Tobie, managed the successful bank in partnership with Jacques Necker, the Thellussons managing the London branch of the bank from 1760 with Necker managing the Paris branch. Both partners became very rich by loans to the treasury and speculation in grain. Peter started his own finance house in Philpot Lane and in 1761 took British nationality by Act of Parliament.He was also involved in other businesses, becoming a director of the Bank of England, part owner of several sugar refineries, and an importer of tobacco and sugar from the West Indies. This role saw him provide loans to slave ship and plantation owners. As these slave owners defaulted on debts, Thellusson amassed interests in Caribbean plantations. The Thellussons continued to own slaves in Grenada and Montserrat until 1820. Thellusson built a large house for himself 'Plaistow Lodge' at Bromley in Kent and in 1790 bought the Brodsworth estate in South Yorkshire.
Personal life
On 6 January 1760 he married Ann Woodford, daughter of Matthew Woodford and sister of Sir Ralph Woodford of Carlby, Lincolnshire. They were the parents of:- Peter Isaac Thellusson, 1st Baron Rendlesham, who married Elizabeth Eleanor Cornwall, a daughter of John Cornwall, in 1783.
- George Woodford Thellusson, who married Mary Anne Fonnereau, a daughter of Philip Fonnereau, MP for Aldeburgh, and Mary Fonnereau, in 1790.
- Maria Thellusson, who married Hon. Augustus Phipps, son of Constantine Phipps, 1st Baron Mulgrave, and Hon. Lepell Hervey.
- Augusta Charlotte Thellusson, who married Thomas Champion Crespigny, son of Philip Champion de Crespigny, in 1798. After his death, she married Sir Joseph Whatley in 1827.
- Charles Thellusson ), who married Sabine Robarts, daughter of Abraham Robarts, MP for Worcester, in 1795.
- Anne Thellusson, who married Vice-Admiral William Lukin, son of Very Rev. George William Lukin, in 1801.