Sir Charles Duncombe

Sir Charles Duncombe (16 November, 1648-9 April, 1711) was an English banker and politician who served as a Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of the City of London.

Duncombe was apprenticed to the London goldsmith Edward Backwell and became in due coursea member of the Goldsmiths' Company. Under both Charles II and James II he was Receiver of the Customs, and made a fortune in banking; later in life he was said to be worth £400,000, and died the richest commoner in England. When James II fled the country in 1688, Duncombe refused him a loan of £1500 to aid his escape.

He was elected to Parliament in 1685, and represented Hedon, Yarmouth (Isle of Wight) and Downton, supporting the Tories. During this period he opposed the establishment of the Bank of England.

In 1698, Duncombe was arrested and imprisoned in the Tower of London, and subsequently expelled from the House of Commons, for "contriving and advising the making of false Indorsements of several Bills, made forth at the Receipt of Exchequer, commonly called Exchequer-Bills", in other words a tax fraud. However, when tried he was acquitted through a mistake in the information, and he was knighted on 20 October, 1699. He was later also re-elected to the Commons for his old constituency.

He also served as alderman for Broad Street ward in the City of London from 1683 to 1686 (from which he was discharged by Royal Commission) and for Bridge Within ward from 1700 until his death. He was Sheriff of the City in 1700, and Lord Mayor in 1708.

His brother, Anthony Duncombe, who was also MP for Hedon, died before him. His nephew and heir, also called Anthony, was later ennobled as Lord Feversham.

References

*'Dakins - Dyer', The Rulers of London 1660-1689: A biographical record of the Aldermen and Common Councilmen of the City of London (1966) [http://www.british-history.ac.uk]
*House of Commons Journal, 18 March 1698 [http://www.british-history.ac.uk]
*Dictionary of National Biography

*Rayment