Henry Bankes was an English politician and author.

Life

Bankes was the only surviving son of Henry Bankes, Esq., and the great-grandson of Sir John Bankes, chief justice of the common pleas in the time of Charles I

Charles I of England

Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

. He was educated at Westminster School

Westminster School

The Royal College of St. Peter in Westminster, almost always known as Westminster School, is one of Britain's leading independent schools, with the highest Oxford and Cambridge acceptance rate of any secondary school or college in Britain...

 and Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...

, where he graduated B.A. in 1778, and M.A. in 1781. After leaving Cambridge he sat for the close borough of Corfe Castle

Corfe Castle (UK Parliament constituency)

Corfe Castle was a parliamentary borough in Dorset, which elected two Members of Parliament to the House of Commons from 1572 until 1832, when it was abolished by the Great Reform Act.-History:...

 from 1780 to 1826; in the latter year he was elected for the county of Dorset

Dorset (UK Parliament constituency)

Dorset was a county constituency covering Dorset in southern England, which elected two Members of Parliament , traditionally known as knights of the shire, to the House of Commons of England from 1290 until 1707, to the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800, and to the House of...

, and re-elected in the general election in the same year, but was rejected after a severe contest in 1830. In politics he was a conservative; he gave a general support to Pitt

William Pitt the Younger

William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...

, but preserved his independence. He took an active but not a leading part in nearly every debate of his time, and closely attended to all parliamentary duties. He was a trustee of the British Museum

British Museum

The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...

, and acted as its organ in parliament. He married in 1784 Frances, daughter of William Woodley, Governor of the Leeward Islands, and left a large family. His second son was William John Bankes

William John Bankes

William John Bankes , the second, but first surviving son of Henry Bankes, was a notable explorer, Egyptologist and adventurer. He was a member of the Bankes family of Dorset and he had Sir Charles Barry recase Kingston Lacy in stone as it is today...

, and his third George Bankes

George Bankes

George Bankes was the last of the Cursitor Barons of the Exchequer, the office being abolished on his death in 1856.-Early life:Bankes was the third son of Henry Bankes of Kingston Hall, Dorsetshire, who represented Corfe Castle for nearly fifty years, and of Frances, daughter of William Woodley,...

. His daughter married Edward Boscawen, 1st Earl of Falmouth

Edward Boscawen, 1st Earl of Falmouth

Edward Boscawen, 1st Earl of Falmouth , known as the Viscount Falmouth between 1808 and 1821, was a British peer and politician.-Political career:...

. Bankes died at Tregothnan

Tregothnan

The Tregothnan Estate is located beside the village of St Michael Penkivel south-east of Truro in Cornwall, United Kingdom.The house and estate is the traditional home of the Boscawen family, and the seat of Lord Falmouth. The original house was built in Plantagenet times and sacked in the English...

, Cornwall

Cornwall

Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...

, 17 December 1834, and was buried at Wimborne Minster

Wimborne Minster

Wimborne Minster is a market town in the East Dorset district of Dorset in South West England, and the name of the Church of England church in that town...

.

Works

• A Civil and Constitutional History of Rome, from the Foundation to the Age of Augustus, 2 vols. 1818.