Sir William Augustus Fraser, 4th Baronet (10 February 182617 August 1898), of Pilton House, near

Barnstaple Barnstaple ( or ) is a river-port town in North Devon, England, at the River Taw's lowest crossing point before the Bristol Channel. From the 14th century, it was licensed to export wool and won great wealth. Later it imported Irish wool, bu ...

, Devon, was an English politician, author and collector. He was elected

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

(Devon) in 1852, and again in 1857, and for

Ludlow Ludlow () is a market town in Shropshire, England. The town is significant in the history of the Welsh Marches and in relation to Wales. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road which bypasses the town. The t ...

(Shropshire) in 1863 and for

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

(Worcestershire) in 1874.

Origins

He was the eldest son and heir of Sir James Fraser, 3rd Baronet, a colonel of the 7th Hussars, who had served on

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

's staff at the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

in 1815.

Biography

Fraser was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, graduating B.A. and M.A. In 1847 he was appointed an officer in the

1st Life Guards The 1st Regiment of Life Guards was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry. It was formed in 1788 by the union of the 1st Troop of Horse Guards and 1st Troop of Horse Grenadier Guards. In 1922, it was amalgamated w ...

, but retired with a captain's rank in 1852. He then set about entering

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, and the ups and downs of his political career were rather remarkable. He was returned for

in 1852, but the election was declared void on account of bribery, and the constituency was disfranchised for two years. At the election of 1857 Sir William, who had meantime been defeated at

Harwich Harwich is a town in Essex, England, and one of the Haven ports on the North Sea coast. It is in the Tendring district. Nearby places include Felixstowe to the north-east, Ipswich to the north-west, Colchester to the south-west and Clacton-on- ...

, was again returned at

. He was, however, defeated in 1859, but was elected in 1863 at

. This seat he held for only two years, when he was again defeated and did not re-enter parliament until 1874, when he was returned for

, a constituency he represented for six years, when he retired. He was a familiar figure at the

Carlton Club The Carlton Club is a private members' club in St James's, London. It was the original home of the Conservative Party before the creation of Conservative Central Office. Membership of the club is by nomination and election only. History The ...

, always ready with a copious collection of anecdotes of Wellington,

Benjamin Disraeli Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, (21 December 1804 – 19 April 1881) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who twice served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. He played a central role in the creation o ...

and

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

. William Fraser was a member of the

Society of Dilettanti The Society of Dilettanti (founded 1734) is a British society of noblemen and scholars that sponsors the study of ancient Greek and Roman art, and the creation of new work in the style. History Though the exact date is unknown, the Society is b ...

(1857) and the author of the book "Members of the Society of Dilettanti, 1736–1874, edited by Sir William Frazer", Chiswick Press.

Bibliography

Books written by him include: *''Words on Wellington'' (1889) *''Disraeli and His Day'' (1891) *''Hic et Ubique'' (1893) *''Napoleon III.'' (1896) *''Waterloo Ball'' (1897). A book on the

Duchess of Richmond's ball The Duchess of Richmond's ball was a ball hosted by Charlotte, Duchess of Richmond in Brussels on 15 June 1815, the night before the Battle of Quatre Bras. Charlotte's husband Charles Lennox, 4th Duke of Richmond, was in command of a reserve fo ...

Death

He died in

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

on 17 August 1898, aged 72.Chisholm, 1911

Bequests

Fraser bequeathed a large fortune to be accumulated in trust during twenty-one years for the benefit of his nephew, Sir Keith Alexander Fraser, eldest son of General James Keith Fraser, formerly colonel of the 1st Life Guards, who succeeded him in the baronetcy. By his will dated 1 December 1886, and proved in October 1898, he further bequeathed a splendid collection of Gillray's caricatures to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

, a similar collection of H.B.'s caricatures, and a unique set of portraits of former speakers to 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. ...

; the chairs of Thackeray and Dickens respectively to the Travellers' and Athenæum Club, Nelson's sword to the United Service Club, Byron's sofa to the Garrick, the manuscript of Gray's 'Elegy' to Eton College library, and the Duke of Marlborough's sword to the Scots Guards at St. James's Palace. The chief portion of Sir William Fraser's library was sold by auction by Messrs. Sotheby, 22 to 30 April 1901, and one thousand eight hundred and fifty-two lots fetched £20,334 18''s''., or more than twice what Fraser had given for them. The chief items were extra-illustrated books and books with autograph inscriptions by distinguished persons.

Notes

References

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fraser, William, 4th Baronet 1826 births 1898 deaths Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Barnstaple Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1874–1880 British Life Guards officers Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Shropshire People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies