Sir Josiah Child
The 22nd August 2026 is the 350th anniversary of the marriage of Emma Barnard, the widow of Francis Willughby, to Sir Josiah Child. She was his third wife. This was a key point in the history of Middleton Hall, because afterwards, as a direct result of this marriage, Middleton Hall was never again the primary residence of the Willoughby family. In a previous post, we explained that Emma’s father had arranged this marriage with the aim of securing the finances of the Willoughby estates. It was also mentioned, that Sir Josiah was viewed as a “sordidly avaricious”, ruthless and controlling character. He was described as immoral and hated by his Willoughby step-children, whom he prevented from accessing their heritage estates. Josiah also took the resources and finances from the Middleton Estate to boost his own liquidity. This post will focus on Josiah’s history.
Josiah was born in about 1630 in London and was baptised on 27th February 1631 at St Bartholomew-by-the-Exchange, Bartholomew Lane off Threadneedle Street, London. He was the second son of Richard and Elizabeth and his father was a merchant of Fleet Street. On 26th December 1654, he married Hannah Boate in Portsmouth and together they had only one daughter, Elizabeth, who survived to adulthood. On 14th June 1663, a licence was issued for his second marriage to Mary Atwood and they had four children: Rebecca; John; Mary; and Josiah. In 1676, Josiah’s third and final marriage was to Emma, the widow of Francis Willughby. Josiah and Emma had one son, Richard, who became Viscount Castlemaine in 1718 and Earl Tylney in 1731.
Josiah began his career as an apprentice in the family business. When he was about 25 years old, he started his own business in Portsmouth as a victualler supplying the Royal Navy. Between 1655 and 1660, he held the office of Deputy Treasurer of the Navy at Portsmouth. He then amassed a comfortable fortune and became a considerable stock-holder in the East India Company to the extent that, in effect, it gave him control of the Company. In 1672, he became a founder member of the Royal Africa Company and he also purchased an interest in over 1,000 acres of land in Jamaica. In 1674, he became a Director of the East India Company and subsequently, first in 1681, Governor of the Company and intermittently Deputy-Governor. It was described that he directed the Company as if it were his own business, openly accused of using it to improve his own personal social, economic and political positions. He also wanted the Company to have its own army and territory and placed a focus on bringing in huge profits at any cost.
It was in that role of Governor that the Anglo-Mughal War took place. It was also known as Child’s War and was the first Anglo-Indian War. The Crown had granted the East India Company a monopoly and numerous fortified bases on the western and south-eastern coasts of the Mughal Empire. In 1682, negotiations for an imperial decree to permit the Company to have trading privileges across the Empire began but these broke down in 1685 when Josiah intervened. In response to the breakdown, taxes on trading were raised but the Company refused the new taxes. Various battles and blockades ensued. In the end, in 1690, the Company was forced to surrender to Emperor Aurangzeb and Josiah had to request a pardon, prostrate in front of the Emperor. The company was fined 150,000 rupees (roughly £3.3 million today) but the apology was accepted and their trading privileges were restored.
Josiah was a writer on economic theory in the mercantilist period and has sometimes been considered as one of the pioneers in developing the concept of the free-trade doctrines of the following century. In 1668, he published a book called “A New Discourse of Trade." By some he was considered a fanatic, but he considered himself a moderate and an advocate of the competitive market. However, he also advocated, at the same time, for government-controlled low interest rates, government-provided relief for the poor and unemployed, and restricted trade in the colonies to benefit England. William Letwin wrote in "Sir Josiah Child, Merchant Economist," that Josiah’s economic thoughts were of little importance but that he was “the most widely-read of seventeenth-century economic writers.”
Josiah also became involved in politics. In 1656, he became an alderman of Portsmouth and in 1658 he became mayor of the town. Then, in December 1658, he was elected as M.P. for Petersfield. He subsequently became M.P. for Dartmouth in 1673 and Ludlow in 1685. He also served as High Sheriff of Essex in 1689. On 16th July 1678, he was created Baronet Child of Wanstead.
In 1673, Sir Josiah purchased Wanstead Manor in Essex and he spent a significant sum relaying the grounds and renovating Wanstead Hall. The diarist John Evelyn, in 1683, wrote “He from an ordinary merchant’s apprentice and management of the East India Company’s common stock being arrived to an estate (‘tis said) of £200,000 … This merchant most sordidly avaricious.”
Most contemporary, not to mention later, descriptions of the character of Josiah Child are unfavourable. One of the least offensive descriptions viewed him as being a man of great mercantile notions who succeeded in that field beyond any other man of his time, but from that came considerable envy and jealousy towards him. However, even this description observed that the animosity was not completely false because Child was vain, covetous, and, although seeming sincere, too cunning.
Sir Josiah died on 22nd June 1699 and was buried in St Mary the Virgin Church, Wanstead.
Further Reading:
B.D. Henning (ed), “Child, Josiah (c.1630-99), of Wanstead, Essex”, The History of Parliament: The House of Commons 1660-1690, 1983. https://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1660-1690/member/child-josiah-1630-99
Author - Debbie Jordan, Middleton Hall Volunteer.
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