Background
On his father"s death in 1781, he inherited his father"s 75% interest in the distilling partnership his father had started with Nathaniel Byles. He also became a partner in the family banking firm, replacing his father, but seems to have taken no active part, leaving the responsibilities to his brother Isaac. He was the eldest son of William Currie (1721–1781) and Magdalen Lefevre (a great aunt of Charles Shaw-Lefevre, 1st Viscount Eversley), and was baptised at the Church of Saint Dunstan"s in Stepney on 4 March 1756.
Currie married Percy Gore on 23 June 1794, the daughter of a banking partner, by whom he had a daughter, Percy Gore Currie, and two sons, William and Henry.
Career
He is chiefly remembered for the restoration of the village of and its manor house, Towers. Percy Gore Currie married the Right Reverend Horatio Powys, son of Thomas Powys, 2nd Baron Lilford. The eldest son, William, was a great connoisseur and collector of works of art, and had excellent taste.
He left his major collection of gems, camei, intagli, Etruscan scarabei and Etruscan gold ornaments to the Uffizi Gallery in Florence.
The second son, Henry, went on to be Member of Parliament for Guildford between 1847 and 1852. Currie bought a substantial property, Horsley Towers, at, in 1784 and commissioned Sir Charles Barry to build a second manor house in the Elizabethan style on the site.
In 1792, an Inclosure Acting enabled him to enclose most of Horsley Common at the northern end of the parish and the common fields and waste at the southern part. He created an open park, grubbing up hedges, but leaving trees standing and planting others
He restored the church of Street Martin, established a school and improved or rebuilt most of the houses in the village.
"He fortunately had opportunities of purchasing nearly all the other land in the parish. And happily for himself, his family, and all the inhabitants of the parish, he had the means with which to make those purchases. We say happily for the inhabitants of the parish, for a more benevolent man, and family, never blessed a village or neighbourhood."
After that war, the estate was broken up and sold in lots.
He continued there until the 1796 election, when he was returned for Winchelsea until 1802.
Gatton and Winchelsea were rotten boroughs and Gatton was an extreme example. lieutenant returned two MPs to the House of Commons, but only two constituents were entitled to vote, one of whom was William"s brother, Mark Currie, the owner of Upper Gatton Park.
Winchelsea also returned two MPs to Westminster, but had seven voters. In Parliament, Currie made no known speech.
He was in favour of the unsuccessful attempt to repeal the Test Acting in Scotland in 1791 and voted with the opposition in the Oczakov debates of 12 April 1791 and 12 March 1792, but appears to have become a supporter of the administration afterwards.
He voted for Pitt"s assessed taxes on 4 January 1798, but made no further mark in the House, although on 9 December 1801 he was appointed to the Committee on East India judicature.
Membership
1st United Kingdom Parliament. 17th Parliament of Great Britain. 18th Parliament of Great Britain]
Currie was returned in 1790 as for Gatton.
