John Henry Loft

General John Henry Loft
Portrait of John Henry Loft
Born	(1769-02-20)20 February 1769 Grainthorpe, Lincolnshire, England
Died	13 July 1849(1849-07-13) (aged 80) Loft Street, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England
Burial place	Marshchapel
Nationality	British
Occupation	Soldier
Known for	Corrupt politics, transcribing Lincolnshire graves
Spouse	Elizabeth Farr

John Henry Loft (20 February 1769 – 13 July 1849) was a British soldier and politician.

Loft was born on 20 February 1769, in Grainthorpe, Lincolnshire.^[1]

In 1769 he enlisted in the 15th Regiment of Foot and had been promoted to lieutenant-colonel within four years, of an unattached Corps of 4,000 men which he had raised himself.^[2]

Loft was the member of Parliament for Great Grimsby ^[3] and was much involved with recruiting during the Napoleonic Wars. He was a controversial but influential figure in the development of Grimsby as a port, being one of the original shareholders named in the act of parliament which created the Grimsby Haven Company in 1796.^[4]

Between around 1826 and 1844, Loft obsessively recorded details of churches, gravestones and memorials around Lincolnshire, many of which have survived and become a useful resource for historians.^[5]

Loft died on 13 July 1849, in a house on Loft Street, Grimsby, which had been named after him.^[6]

• Hansard 1803 - 2005 Contributions in parliament by John Henry Loft
• Media related to John Henry Loft at Wikimedia Commons

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