Sir William Elford, 1st Baronet (August 1749 – 30 November 1837) was an English

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and amateur

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

Background

William Elford of

Bickham Bickham is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Charles G. Bickham (1867–1944), United States Army officer *Clint Bickham Clint Bickham is an American voice actor and ADR script writer. After collaborating with illustrator ...

Buckland Monachorum Buckland Monachorum is a village and civil parish in the West Devon district of Devon, England, situated on the River Tavy, about 10 miles north of Plymouth. In 2006 the neighbourhood had an estimated 1,511 residents and 654 dwellings. The elect ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

, was the elder son of the Reverend Lancelot Elford, of Bickham, and Grace, daughter of Alexander Wills of

Kingsbridge Kingsbridge is a market town in the South Hams district of Devon, England, with a population of 6,116 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census. Two electoral wards bear the name of ''Kingsbridge'' (East & North). Their combined population ...

, Devonshire. His family was one of the oldest in the

west of England The West of England is an area of South West England around the River Avon. The area has a local government combined authority that consists of the unitary authorities of Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset. The comb ...

Career

Elford was a partner in the banking firm at

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

of Elford, Tingcombe, & Clerk, and was connected in many capacities with the same town. He was Recorder of Plymouth from 1797 to February 1833 and was afterwards Recorder for Totnes from 1832 to 1834. He was elected MP for

from 1796 to 1806, when he was defeated, bringing an unsuccessful petition against his antagonist, Sir C. M. Pole, Bart. He also represented Westbury for some time. In July 1807 he was elected M.P. for

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

, but resigned his seat in July 1808. He was lieutenant-colonel of the

South Devon Militia The South Devon Militia was a part-time military unit in the maritime county of Devonshire in the West of England. The Militia had always been important in the county, which was vulnerable to invasion, and from its formal creation in 1758 the regi ...

, and in that capacity accompanied his regiment to

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

during the Irish rebellion, 1798–9. On 29 November 1800 he was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

, of

in the County of Devon. Elford was a friend of

William Pitt the Younger William Pitt (28 May 1759 – 23 January 1806) was a British statesman who served as the last prime minister of Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain from 1783 until the Acts of Union 1800, and then first Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, p ...

and frequently visited

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, where he was noted as a

whist Whist is a classic English trick-taking card game which was widely played in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although the rules are simple, there is scope for strategic play. History In 1674, '' The Complete Gamester'' described the game Ru ...

-player and was acquainted with many of the leading literary characters and artists of his day. He possessed considerable scientific attainments, and in 1790 was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

and in 1813 the

Linnaean Society The Linnean Society of London is a learned society dedicated to the study and dissemination of information concerning natural history, evolution, and taxonomy. It possesses several important biological specimen, manuscript and literature collec ...

. A few years before his death he published the results of his investigations as to a substitute for common

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom (biology), kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are est ...

, and his discoveries excited some attention. Elford was also an artist of great excellence. He was a constant contributor to the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

exhibitions from 1774 to 1837, and his pictures were marked by great taste and good

draughtsmanship A drafter (also draughtsman / draughtswoman in British and Commonwealth English, draftsman / draftswoman, drafting technician, or CAD technician in American and Canadian English) is an engineering technician who makes detailed technical drawi ...

. The last exhibited by him was painted in his eighty-ninth year. There are three wash drawings by him in the print room at the

British Museum The British Museum is a Museum, public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is the largest in the world. It documents the story of human cu ...

. His most important picture was 'The White Lady of Avenel', exhibited in 1822, and now in the possession of his grandson, Colonel Henry Cranstoun Adams of Lion House,

Exmouth Exmouth is a harbor, port town, civil parishes in England, civil parish and seaside resort situated on the east bank of the mouth of the River Exe, southeast of Exeter. In 2011 it had a population of 34,432, making Exmouth the List of settl ...

, and

Crapstone Crapstone is a village in the county of Devon. The village is located on the edge of Dartmoor, in the parish of Buckland Monachorum and is approximately from the village of Yelverton, from the city of Plymouth and from Tavistock. History Du ...

, Buckland Monachorum. There is a landscape by Elford at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a List of British royal residences, royal residence at Windsor, Berkshire, Windsor in the English county of Berkshire, about west of central London. It is strongly associated with the Kingdom of England, English and succee ...

, which he presented to the Prince Regent in 1819, and he also presented pictures painted by himself to the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

and to many of his friends.

Personal life

Elford was ruined when his bank failed in 1825 and after being forced to sell his Bickham estate lived the latter part of his life at the Priory,

Totnes Totnes ( or ) is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England, within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is about west of Paignton, about west-southwest of Torquay and ab ...

, the home of his son-in-law. He was twice married; his first wife was Mary, daughter and heiress of the Rev. John Davies of

Plympton Plympton is a suburb of the city of Plymouth in Devon, England. It is in origin an ancient Stannary, stannary town. It was an important trading centre for locally mined tin, and a seaport before the River Plym silted up and trade moved down riv ...

, who died in 1817, leaving one son, Jonathan Elford, who married and died in 1823 without issue, and two daughters, Grace Chard, died unmarried 24 Feb. 1856, and Elizabeth, who became the wife of General

Sir George Pownoll Adams ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as part o ...

, K.C.H.; his second wife was Elizabeth, daughter of

Humphrey Hall Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of Pr ...

Manadon Manadon is a predominantly post-war suburb of Plymouth in the English county of Devon. Roughly geographically situated in the centre of the city, it has a primary school, St Boniface's Catholic College (secondary comprehensive), a sports and ...

, and widow of Lieutenant-colonel Walrond. He died at that place on 30 November 1837, aged 89, and was buried in the parish church, where there is a tablet to his memory. At Elford's death the baronetcy became extinct.

James Northcote James Northcote (22 October 1746 – 13 July 1831) was a British Painting, painter. He became a member of the Royal Academy in 1787, and a member of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, Royal Institute of the Netherlands in 1809 ...

was an intimate friend of the Elford family, and painted numerous portraits of them, most of which, with others, are in the possession of the grandson, already mentioned, Colonel H. C. Adams, at

. Elford was one of the primary correspondents of the writer

Mary Mitford Mary Russell Mitford (16 December 1787 – 10 January 1855) was an English essayist, novelist, poet and dramatist. She was born at Alresford in Hampshire, England. She is best known for '' Our Village'', a series of sketches of village scenes ...

and their correspondence is compiled in two books by Rev. A.G. L'Estrange, ''The Friendships of Mary Russell Mitford'' published by Harper & Brothers, 1882, and ''The Life of Mary Russell Mitford'', by the same publisher in 1870.

References

* ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Elford, William 1749 births 1837 deaths People from Buckland Monachorum English bankers Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Plymouth British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1807–1812 18th-century English painters English male painters 19th-century English painters English watercolourists Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain Fellows of the Royal Society Devon Militia officers 19th-century English male artists 18th-century English male artists