PARSONS, Sir John (d.1717), of the Priory, Reigate, Surr.

Parsons was the owner of the Red Lion Brewery in Aldgate, famous for its porter, known as ‘Parsons’ black champagne’.Beaven, Aldermen of London, ii. 196. In 1681 he bought a property, with a number of vote-carrying houses, at Reigate, which he represented with two brief intervals from 1685 till his death, 25 Jan. 1717. He also stood unsuccessfully for London in 1701 and 1705. A Tory with Jacobite leanings,W. Hooper, Reigate, 119, 121. he is not recorded as speaking or voting during the short time for which he sat under George I.