Landowner and politician
Eldest of the four children of John Shafto (d. 1742) of Whitworth, Co. Durham, and his wife, Mary (d. 1768), daughter of Thomas Jackson of Nunnington, Yorkshire. The Shafto family estate at Whitworth, Co. Durham, was inherited by Shafto's father in 1729 upon the death of his elder brother, Robert. It is not known exactly when or where Shafto was born, but he probably spent most of his childhood at Whitworth, living in the manor house which Robert Surtees described as 'one of the best family mansions in the county' (Surtees, 3.302). The property had been owned by the Shafto family since 1652, when it was bought by Shafto's great-great-grandfather, Mark Shafto, a barrister and, from 1648, recorder of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Member of Parliament for County Durham, 1760–1768
Comptroller of fines and forfeitures from the outports 1778
Member of Parliament for Downton, 1780–1790
Inspired the folk song:
Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,
Silver buckles at his knee;
He'll come back and marry me,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
Bobby Shafto's bright and fair,
Panning out his yellow hair;
He's my love for evermore,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
A copy of a portrait by Joshua Reynolds hangs in Whitworth Hall (now a hotel), and is claimed to depict Bobby Shafto; although it has been claimed to be of a different Robert Shafto.
Eldest of the four children of John Shafto (d. 1742) of Whitworth, Co. Durham, and his wife, Mary (d. 1768), daughter of Thomas Jackson of Nunnington, Yorkshire. The Shafto family estate at Whitworth, Co. Durham, was inherited by Shafto's father in 1729 upon the death of his elder brother, Robert. It is not known exactly when or where Shafto was born, but he probably spent most of his childhood at Whitworth, living in the manor house which Robert Surtees described as 'one of the best family mansions in the county' (Surtees, 3.302). The property had been owned by the Shafto family since 1652, when it was bought by Shafto's great-great-grandfather, Mark Shafto, a barrister and, from 1648, recorder of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Member of Parliament for County Durham, 1760–1768
Comptroller of fines and forfeitures from the outports 1778
Member of Parliament for Downton, 1780–1790
Inspired the folk song:
Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,
Silver buckles at his knee;
He'll come back and marry me,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
Bobby Shafto's bright and fair,
Panning out his yellow hair;
He's my love for evermore,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
A copy of a portrait by Joshua Reynolds hangs in Whitworth Hall (now a hotel), and is claimed to depict Bobby Shafto; although it has been claimed to be of a different Robert Shafto.
Landowner and politician
Eldest of the four children of John Shafto (d. 1742) of Whitworth, Co. Durham, and his wife, Mary (d. 1768), daughter of Thomas Jackson of Nunnington, Yorkshire. The Shafto family estate at Whitworth, Co. Durham, was inherited by Shafto's father in 1729 upon the death of his elder brother, Robert. It is not known exactly when or where Shafto was born, but he probably spent most of his childhood at Whitworth, living in the manor house which Robert Surtees described as 'one of the best family mansions in the county' (Surtees, 3.302). The property had been owned by the Shafto family since 1652, when it was bought by Shafto's great-great-grandfather, Mark Shafto, a barrister and, from 1648, recorder of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Member of Parliament for County Durham, 1760–1768
Comptroller of fines and forfeitures from the outports 1778
Member of Parliament for Downton, 1780–1790
Inspired the folk song:
Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,
Silver buckles at his knee;
He'll come back and marry me,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
Bobby Shafto's bright and fair,
Panning out his yellow hair;
He's my love for evermore,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
A copy of a portrait by Joshua Reynolds hangs in Whitworth Hall (now a hotel), and is claimed to depict Bobby Shafto; although it has been claimed to be of a different Robert Shafto.
Eldest of the four children of John Shafto (d. 1742) of Whitworth, Co. Durham, and his wife, Mary (d. 1768), daughter of Thomas Jackson of Nunnington, Yorkshire. The Shafto family estate at Whitworth, Co. Durham, was inherited by Shafto's father in 1729 upon the death of his elder brother, Robert. It is not known exactly when or where Shafto was born, but he probably spent most of his childhood at Whitworth, living in the manor house which Robert Surtees described as 'one of the best family mansions in the county' (Surtees, 3.302). The property had been owned by the Shafto family since 1652, when it was bought by Shafto's great-great-grandfather, Mark Shafto, a barrister and, from 1648, recorder of Newcastle upon Tyne.
Member of Parliament for County Durham, 1760–1768
Comptroller of fines and forfeitures from the outports 1778
Member of Parliament for Downton, 1780–1790
Inspired the folk song:
Bobby Shafto's gone to sea,
Silver buckles at his knee;
He'll come back and marry me,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
Bobby Shafto's bright and fair,
Panning out his yellow hair;
He's my love for evermore,
Bonny Bobby Shafto!
A copy of a portrait by Joshua Reynolds hangs in Whitworth Hall (now a hotel), and is claimed to depict Bobby Shafto; although it has been claimed to be of a different Robert Shafto.
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