Richard Wilbraham-Bootle (20 September 1725 – 13 March 1796) was a British landowner and politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

for 29 years from 1761 to 1790.

Early life

Lathom House from Morris's Country Seats 1880 edited

He was born Richard Wilbraham on 20 September 1725, the eldest son of Dorothy ( Kenrick) Wilbraham and Randle Wilbraham of

Rode Hall Rode Hall, a Georgian country house, is the seat of the Wilbraham family, members of the landed gentry in the parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, England. The estate, with the original timber-framed manor house, was purchased by the Wilbrahams fro ...

, Cheshire. He matriculated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

on 8 July 1742 and entered

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

in 1742 and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1747.

Career

Wilbraham Bootle was returned as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

without a contest in the

1761 general election The 1761 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Sco ...

and was returned unopposed again in

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Rep ...

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, List of Ottoman Sultans, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and f ...

and

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allow ...

. In 1780 the

English Chronicle ''The English Chronicle'' was a thrice-weekly evening newspaper founded in London in 1779. History and profile ''The Chronicle'' was founded in 1779 although the founders are not known. In 1781 it was given the supplementary title ''Or, Universal ...

described him as “one of the most independent Members in the House”. He was a member of the

St. Alban's Tavern group The St. Alban's Tavern group was an informal association of 78 British Members of Parliament who aimed to bring about a reconciliation of William Pitt the Younger and Charles James Fox in a unified Ministry. They were named after the St. Alban's Tav ...

which in February 1784 tried to bring Pitt and Fox together. In the 1784 general election, he was returned with a comfortable majority the first time he had to contest his seat at Chester. He retired in 1790. Only a few speeches by him are recorded and none were of any consequence. In 1758, he inherited Lathom House on the death of his wife's father and in 1770 inherited Rode Hall on the death of his own father.

Personal life

George Romney (1734-1802) - Mary Bootle (d

On 31 May 1755, he married Mary Bootle, daughter and heiress of

Robert Bootle Robert Bootle FRS ( – 7 May 1758) was an English ship's captain in the service of the East India Company who was elected four times to serve as a director of the company. Early life He was born at Lathom House in Lancashire, a younger son of Ro ...

Lathom House Lathom House was a large country house in the parish of Lathom in Lancashire, England. Built between 1725 and 1740, the main block was demolished in 1925. Early history A wooden castle is believed to have stood on the site in mediaeval times. ...

, Lancashire. Upon his marriage, he took the additional name of Bootle. Together, they were the parents of at least six sons and eight daughters, including: * Anne Dorothea Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1825), who married

Richard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley (20 May 1744 – 19 March 1804) was a British barrister and Whig politician, who served as the Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He was a Member of Parliament from 1783 to 1801. Biography He ...

. * Francisca Alicia Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1810), who married

Anthony Hardolph Eyre Anthony or Antony is a masculine given name, derived from the ''Antonii'', a '' gens'' ( Roman family name) to which Mark Antony (''Marcus Antonius'') belonged. According to Plutarch, the Antonii gens were Heracleidae, being descendants of Anton ...

Grove Hall Grove Hall was an extended Tudor country house located between Retford and Grove in Nottinghamshire, England, and was part of an extensive estate. History The barony of Grove, with the manor of West Retford, was part of the large property grant ...

in 1783; their daughter Mary Letitia Eyre married

Charles Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers Charles Herbert Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers (11 August 1778 – 27 October 1860) was an English nobleman and naval officer, the second son of Charles Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers. Naval career Pierrepont entered the Royal Navy as a midshipman, ...

. * Mary Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1784), who married

William Egerton William Egerton (originally William Tatton; 1749–1806) was an English politician and a member of the Egerton family. Egerton was the son of William Tatton and Hester, sister of Samuel Egerton, who was her brother's heiress. He changed his s ...

in 1780. * Emma Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1797), who married

Sir Charles Edmonstone, 2nd Baronet Sir Charles Edmonstone, 2nd Baronet (10 October 1764 – 1 April 1821), also 12th of Duntreath, was a Scottish politician. Edmonstone was the third son of Sir Archibald Edmonstone, 1st Baronet. He was educated at Eton College and subsequently at ...

, of Duntreath, in 1794. * Sibylla Georgiana Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1799), who married William Ffarington in 1791. * Elizabeth Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1841), who married the Rev. W. Barnes, Rector at Brixton Doverill, in 1821. *

Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale (7 March 1771 – 3 April 1853), was a British landowner and politician. Life Bootle-Wilbraham was the son of Richard Wilbraham-Bootle and his wife Mary, daughter of Robert Bootle. He inherited La ...

(1771–1853), who married Mary Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of Rev. Edward Taylor, in 1796. * Randle Bootle-Wilbraham (1773–1861), who married Letitia Rudd, daughter of Rev. Edward Rudd, in 1798. After her death in 1805, he married Sibylla Egerton, daughter of Philip Egerton, in 1808.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Alan Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2000), volume I, page 119. Wilbraham Bootle died on 13 March 1796. His eldest son

Edward Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Sa ...

inherited

and was created Baron Skelmersdale. Rode Hall passed to his younger son, Randle Wilbraham, father of General Sir

Richard Wilbraham General Sir Richard Wilbraham (12 April 1811 – 30 April 1900) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). Early life He was a son of Randle Bootle-Wilbraham (1773–1861) of Rode Hall and, h ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bootle, Richard Wilbraham 1725 births 1796 deaths British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies