Neave was the son of James Neave and Susanna Trueman. He developed considerable interests in the West Indies and the Americas and was chairman at various times of the Ramsgate Harbour Trust, the Society of West Indian Merchants and the London Dock Company, as well as a director of the
Hudson's Bay Company. Neave was a friend of
George Read of Delaware who wrote to warn him in 1765 that the British government's attempts to tax the
colonies without giving them direct representation in Parliament would lead to independence. Neave lived in
Bower House in
Havering-atte-Bower but sought to elevate himself from merchant to country gentleman and purchased
Dagnam Park in 1772. Neave had the original Dagnams demolished, probably between 1772 and 1776 and replaced by a red-brick
Georgian house nine bays wide by four deep with a curved, central three-bay projection to the south front. He was a director of the
Bank of England for 48 years, made
Deputy Governor in 1781 and
Governor from 1783 to 1785. Neave's tenure as Governor occurred during the end of the
Bengal bubble crash (1769–1784). In 1794, he was appointed
High Sheriff of Essex. He was a Fellow of the
Society of Antiquaries of London and, in 1785, was elected a
Fellow of the Royal Society. He was created a
baronet on 13 May 1795. ==Family==