Baptised in Lowestoft.1

Died in London, Goodman's Fields (Mansell Street).2,3,4,5,6,7

From the Kentish Gazette :-
"Thursday, at his house in Mansell-street, Goodman's-fields, in the 80th year of his age, John Barker, Esq; Governor of the London Assurance Corporation, and one of the Elder Brethren of the Trinity House"

From the Bath Chronicle and Weekly Gazette :-
"Aged 86, John Barker, esq; Governor of the London Assurance Corporation"

From the Ipswich Journal :-
"Thursday se'nnight died, at his house in Mansell-street, London, John Barker, Esq. governor of the London Assurance, vice president of the Magdalen charity; an elder of the Trinity House, and one of the directors of Greenwich Hospital. He was a great benefactor to the town of Lowestoft"

From the Norfolk Chronicle :-
“On Thursday the 1st instant died, at his house in Mansell-street, London, John Barker, Esq; one of the Elder Brethren of the Corporation of Trinity House, a Governor of the London Assurance, a Vice-President of the Magdalen charity, and one of the Directors of the Greenwich Hospital. A gentleman of the most extensive benevolence to mankind in general, and particularly to the distressed seaman and widows of Lowestoft, of which place he was a native, and where his loss will be severely felt. – His remains were interred in a most respectful manner in the family vault at Lowestoft, attended by a great number of the inhabitants. – It is said that he has bequeathed something considerable, to be appropriate to charitable use, to the place of his nativity”

Buried in Lowestoft, St Margaret.2,8

From the Parish Register :-
"9 John Barker s of John and Jane 80 Mund??"

Research Note.2

From "The Black Book" in the Norfolk Record Office :-
"He was an elder broker at the Trinity House & a director of Greenwich Hospital. His portrait was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds & engraved by John Jones. The portrait was copied in oils (half size) by George Clayton Eaton. the copy was in 1952 presented to the Corporation of Lowestoft by Frederick Ray Eaton when leaving Eaton Hall."

Portrait in New York, The Met Fifth Avenue.1

Artist : Sir Joshua Reynolds
Date : 1786
Medium : Oil on Canvas
Dimensions : 173.4 x 120.7 cm
Accession No : 54.192

Information from the website :-
“John Barker was baptised in Lowestoft, a Suffolk port town on November 9, 1707. His father was a merchant, from whom he inherited property in Lowestoft and an interest in ships sailing from Great Yarmouth. In 1741 he was elected to membership in the Younger Brethren of the Corporation of Trinity House, London, which was England’s leading lighthouse and harbour-pilot authority. He joined the Elder Brethren in 1750 and in 1762 became the warden. From 1771 until his death he served as governor of London’s principal marine insurance company, London Assurance. In the 1750s Barker had become interested in philanthropy, serving at various times as a governor or director of several London charities. In the background of the portrait there is a view of the enclosed basin and jetty of Ramsgate Harbour, Kent, the development of which occupied Barker, who was a highly trained engineer, from 1749 to his death. He was elected chairman of the Ramsgate Harbour Trustees’ Works Committee in 1760 and served for almost twenty-eight years. Although modernized, the harbour has not changed greatly in appearance since.
Barker had seven appointment for sittings with Reynolds between mid-February and early April of 1786 and on April 7 paid the artist 200 guineas for his portrait.”