John Knight

John Knight (1765-1850) of Lea Castle, Wolverley, of 52 Portland Place in London, and of Simonsbath House, Exmoor, Somerset, was an agricultural pioneer who commenced the reclamation of the barren moorland of the former royal forest of Exmoor in Devon and Somerset, England. Origins John II Knight (1765-1850) was the son of the ironmaster John I Knight (d.1795) of Lea Castle, the son of Edward Knight (d.1780), 3rd son of Richard Knight (1659-1745) of Downton, a wealthy ironmaster and founder of the family's fortune, proprietor of Bringewood Ironworks. John II Knight's younger brother was the mathematician Thomas Knight (1775-1853) of The Mount, Papcastle, Cumbria, against whom he brought the celebrated 1840 lawsuit Knight v Knight, concerning the inheritance of their cousin Payne Knight (1750-1824), MP, of Downton Castle. Career