John Elwes, born John Meggot in 1714, was a notoriously frugal 18th-century politician and a member of the affluent Elwes family from Great Billing, Northamptonshire. Despite inheriting a vast fortune, Elwes chose a life of extreme austerity, mirroring the miserly character of Ebenezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. His peculiar habits—ranging from wearing threadbare clothes to eating meagre meals in unheated homes—left a lasting impression on local history and may have even inspired Dickens’ iconic creation.