Colonel Sir Frederick Winn Knight (9 May 1812 – 3 May 1897) was an English Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1841 to 1885.

Origins

Frederick Knight was the eldest son of John Knight II (d.1850) of Lea Castle, Wolverley, (2 miles north of Kidderminster) Worcestershire and 26 miles east of Downton Castle) (built by his father John Knight I) and 52 Portland PlaceHarvey, Nigel. The Farmsteads of the Exmoor Reclamation, p.45 in London, by his wife Hon. Jane Elizabeth Allanson-Winn, daughter of George Allanson-Winn, 1st Baron Headley. His grandfather, John Knight I of Lea Castle was an ironmaster and the grandson of Richard Knight of Downton Castle, Downton on the Rock, Herefordshire, (about five miles west of Ludlow, Shropshire) a magnate in the iron industry. He had at least two brothers: Charles Allanson Knight (1814–1879) who married Jessie Ramsay (1828–1922), daughter of William Ramsay (1800–1881) (a.k.a. Innes) of Barra, Inverurie, and widow of Count Alexander de Polignac(d.pre-1862). His children were under the guardianship of the Fane Family of Fulbeck Hall, Lincolnshire, between 1876 and 1887. W.D. Fane wrote in his correspondence of Summer 1855 of visiting his friend "Knight" in Rome,Lincolnshire Archives 1 FANE 5/33: Guardianship of children of Charles Allanson Knight of Wolverley, Worcs., 1876-87; 1 FANE 6/10/8/C/3, Correspondence 1855 probably at the house of John Knight II who had retired to Rome. Edward Lewis Knight (1817–1882), of Hornacott Manor, Boyton, Cornwall. He married three times: Firstly to Elizabeth Harris Secondly in 1868 to Henrietta Mary Sanford,Marriage settlement dated 1868 held by Cornwall Archives BRA1901/23, also referred to in BRA1901/27 by whom he had issue, see section below, heir. Thirdly 1877 to Edith Emma Butler (1851–1936)

Career

He was educated at Charterhouse School and was lieutenant-colonel of the Worcestershire Yeomanry Cavalry and of the 1st Battalion Worcestershire Rifle Volunteers, raised by him after 1859, for which service he received a knighthood.Harvey, p.46 He was Deputy Lieutenant and JP for Worcestershire and was a family trustee of the British Museum, as representative of Richard Payne Knight (1750–1824) of Downton Castle, the classical scholar and elder brother of his great-great-grandfather Edward Knight (d.1780). In 1841, Knight was elected Member of Parliament for West Worcestershire. He was Parliamentary Secretary to the Poor Law Board under Lord Derby's Governments of 1852 and 1858–9. He held his parliamentary seat until 1885, for a remarkably long continuous period of 44 years, remarked on in the Vanity Fair caricature of him by Spy of the previous year captioned: "has sat for three and forty years".

Exmoor reclamation

Knight took over from his father in managing the 10,262 1/4 acre estate, (subsequently increased to about 20,000 acres) formerly the royal forest of Exmoor, Somerset, purchased for £50,122 by public tender by his father in August 1818Notice of Disposal by Public Tender published in the Taunton Courier Thursday 18 June 1818; Announcement of Mr Knight as successful bidder published in same 12 August 1818; Source: Rawle, op.cit., pp.102-103 from King George III's Commissioners of Woods, Forests and Land Revenues.Rawle, Edwin John, Annals of the Ancient Royal Forest of Exmoor, Taunton, 1893, p.102 His father had commenced the great task of reclaiming the rough grazing of the high moors, all over 1,000 ft, to arable production, and had built two farmsteads, Honeymead and Cornham, to the east and west respectively of his own residence at Simonsbath House, Simonsbath, formerly the only residence on the forest, built by James Boevey (1622–1696) in 1654,The date "1654" is carved on the oak lintel of the old kitchen fireplace which already had enclosed farmland of 108 acres.

There existed a familial connection between the Knights and the Bampfylde Baronets (from 1831 Barons Poltimore), lords of the manor of North Molton, which large manor was adjacent to the west side of the royal forest of Exmoor. Col. Coplestone Warre Bampfylde (d. 29 August 1791), Colonel of the Somerset Militia and nephew of Sir Coplestone Warwick Bampfylde, 3rd Baronet (c. 1689–1727), had married Mary Knight, 2nd daughter of Edward Knight of Wolverley, Worcestershire.Vivian, Lt.Col. J.L., (Ed.) The Visitations of the County of Devon: Comprising the Heralds' Visitations of 1531, 1564 & 1620, Exeter, 1895, p.40, pedigree of Bampfylde

In 1841 John Knight II withdrew from the task and retired to Rome, and Frederick took up the task with much vigour. He built 15 further farmsteads and changed his father's policy of "in-hand" farming of the forest as one huge entity to one of colonising the moor with tenant farmers who would bear the risks and rewards of the farming operations themselves and would pay him rents.Harvey, Nigel. The Farmsteads of the Exmoor Reclamation, c. 1985, p.46 This was during a time of great population expansion when it was widely feared that food supplies would inevitably run short. The political situation was uncertain and revolution was feared unless the price of food could be reduced. Thomas Malthus had written in 1798: "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man".Malthus T.R., An Essay on the Principle of Population, 1798, Chapter 1, p13 in Oxford World's Classics reprint Both father and son were unsuccessful with the mining ventures they planned on Exmoor, although much expenditure was made in prospecting for minerals and one mine-shaft was sunk, named Wheal Eliza. A large pond known as Pinkworthy Pond, was dug on The Chains, a boggy expanse of moorland in the NW corner of the forest, the purpose of which is unknown, but was possibly to drive mill machinery. Knight was a keen sportsman and also valued his Exmoor estate for the stag-hunting,Harvey, p.48 which had been practised there with hounds for centuries. He also encouraged the abandonment of his father's determined policy of attempting to grow wheat, more suited to lowlands, and sought to introduce a pastoral system using sheep.Harvey, p.50 He is said to have largely designed many of the farmstead lay-outs himself, and these have been found to the present day to be well sheltered and well drained. Most of Knight's farmsteads survive today, only 5 having been demolished or partly so, namely: Cloven Rocks, Pinkworthy, farm buildings demolished, house remains, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. Titchcombe, Larkbarrow, requisitioned in WWII for artillery practice and destroyed by shelling. Tom's Hill. The remaining farms and house which survive are: Simonsbath House, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. Horsen, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. Wintershead, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. Driver, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. Emmett's Grange, sold by Lady Margaret Fortescue in 1959. Built in 1840, it was the home of Knight's land agent Robert Smith and included cowhoses for thirty-five animals, a relatively large herd for the period. It is the highest farmhouse on Exmoor at 1,250 ft. The house is larger than a simple farmhouse and clearly was built as an elegant Georgian residence. Elements of landscape tree-plantings survive in the grounds. In the 1930s it was rented as a hunting lodge from Hugh Fortescue, 5th Earl Fortescue (1888–1958) by his younger brother Hon. Denzil Fortescue who later became Denzil Fortescue, 6th Earl Fortescue (1893–1977) The property at present (2012) includes 900 acres. It is owned by the Barlow family, of whom Lucy Barlow is a joint-master of the Dulverton West Foxhounds. The property is let-out to paying guests on a weekly basis. Warren. This is the most perfectly preserved of the historic Knight farmsteads. It was sold by the Fortescues to the Exmoor National Park Authority which sold it in 1983Harvey, Nigel, p.53, quoting sale particulars 1983 of estate agents Philip Sanders & Stubbs, Minehead to its tenant-farmer, Mr Hawkins, who later served as a joint-master of the Devon & Somerset Staghounds. It is occupied in 2012 by his son Andrew Hawkins and his wife a Councillor on Exmoor Parish Council. Simonsbath Barton Cornham Duredon Honeymead: Now modernised beyond recognition. Sold by Earl Fortescue in 1927 to the industrialist and director of Royal Dutch Shell Sir Robert Waley Cohen (1877–1952), who had leased it since 1924. This was the first separate disposal made from the former Exmoor Forest. Waley Cohen purchased Honeymead with 1,745 acres, including Winstitchen Allotment and Exe Cleave Allotment, together with the farmsteads of Pickedstones, Winstitchen and Red Deer (a.k.a. Gallon House), comprising most of the eastern part of the former forest.Victoria County History, Exmoor:The Making of an English Upland Sir Robert brought modern farming techniques to Exmoor, and bred prize-winning herds of Friesian dairy cattle, Red Ruby Devon cattle, Exmoor Horn and Devon Closewool sheep. He also pioneered the planting of tree shelter belts as an addition to the traditional wall and beech hedge-banks. Sir Robert's son, Sir Bernard Waley-Cohen (1914–1991), was Lord Mayor of London (1960–61) and Chairman of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds for many years. He was created a baronet, "of Honeymead in the County of Somerset" in 1961. He continued to farm at Honeymead but gave up the dairy cattle. It is still owned by the Waley-Cohen family, which retains 1,000 acres. Gallon House (formerly Red Deer) Pickedstones Winstitchen After the early death of his son aged 28 in 1879, Knight sold the reversion after his death of Exmoor to Viscount Ebrington, Master of the Devon and Somerset Staghounds, the future Hugh Fortescue, 4th Earl Fortescue (1854–1932), whose family's principal seat was Castle Hill, Filleigh, 10 miles SW of Simonsbath. In 1927 the Fortescues sold 1,745 acres with Honeymead, Gallon House, Pickedstones and Winstitchen to Sir Robert Waley Cohen. The remainder of the estate continued to be held by the Fortescues until after the death of the 5th Earl in 1958, when the latter's eldest daughter and co-heiress, Lady Margaret Fortescue (b. 1923), sold much of the "Simonsbath Estate", as the former Royal Forest was termed by the family, together with much of the two Fortescue estates centred on Challacombe and West Buckland, to pay large death duties.Lauder, Rosemary, Devon Families, Tiverton, 2002, p.80 The Simonsbath Estate properties sold were as follows, per the sales particulars headed "The Challacombe Estate and part of the Exmoor Estate, North Devon" dated 18 September 1959: Driver Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor Driver Cottages, Driver Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor Pinkery Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor Hoar Oak Herding, Lynton and Lynmouth Exmoor Forest Hotel, Simonsbath, Exmoor Emmetts Grange Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor Wintershead Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor Wintershead Cottages, Wintershead Farm, Exmoor 1 Wintershead Cottages, Simonsbath, Exmoor Horsen Farm, Simonsbath, Exmoor Wintershead Cottages, Horsen Farm, Exmoor 2 Wintershead Cottages, Simonsbath, Exmoor