| Administrative History | John Harpur (1679-1741), 4th Baronet, was son of John and Anne Harpur. His baptism is recorded in the Ticknall parish register in 1680. He was still an infant when his father died: Sir Robert Burdett, Robert Wilmot and Henry Dyson were appointed guardians (see D3155/WH/2526) and were active in this role in subsequent years. He matriculated at Magdalen College Oxford in 1697. He was married in c1702 to Catherine, daughter of Thomas Crewe of Steane; the marriage settlement of 1702 is held at Leicestershire Record Office. He became High Sheriff of Derbyshire in 1702, and is credited with a rebuilding of Calke between 1701 and 1704. In 1705 or 1706 John Harpur purchased a house in St James's Place, Westminster, London and this continued to be the family's London home throughout John Harpur's life. John and Catherine Harpur had four sons and four daughters, all baptised at St James's Church, Westminster, London. The church at Calke contains an elaborate memorial inscription extolling the virtues of John and Catherine Harpur. A number of family portraits survive at Calke Abbey. For a discussion of the breadth of John Harpur's cultural activities based on an analysis of account books, see: Michael Reed "Cultural role of small towns in England 1600-1800", (pages 143-145) in "Small Towns in Early Modern Europe", edited by Peter Clark. |