Sir William Gostwick, 4th Baronet (21 August 1650 – 24 January 1720) was an English Whig politician who served as MP for

Bedfordshire Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...

from 1698 to 1713.

Early life

Gostwick was baptised on 21 August 1650. He was the second, but eldest surviving, son of Sir Edward Gostwick, 3rd Baronet (1619–1659) and the former Mary Lytton. He was one of five sons and two daughters, all of whom died unmarried except for William. His paternal grandparents were

Sir Edward Gostwick, 2nd Baronet Sir Edward Gostwick, 2nd Baronet (1588 – 29 September 1630) was an English aristocrat. Early life Gostwick was born in 1588. He was the eldest surviving son and heir of Sir William Gostwick, 1st Baronet and the former Jane Owen. His father was c ...

and the former Anne Wentworth (a daughter of John Wentworth, MP for

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

and for

Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 11,043 in 2001, increasing to 11,385 in 2011. Situated in the north of the county, it lies to the west of the major ...

). His uncle, Thomas Gostwick, married Elizabeth Dorislaus (a daughter of Sir

Isaac Dorislaus Isaac Dorislaus (1595 in Alkmaar, Holland – 2 May 1649 at The Hague, Holland) was a Dutch Calvinist historian and lawyer who was an important official in Oliver Cromwell's period of rule. He came to England as a historian. His lectures were see ...

, Ambassador from Holland to

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

). His maternal grandparents were Sir

William Lytton Sir William Lytton DL JP (29 September 1586 – 14 August 1660) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1640 to 1648. He supported the Parliamentary cause in the English Civil War. Early life Lytton was born on 29 Se ...

of Knebworth, MP for

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, and Anne Slaney (granddaughter of Sir Stephen Slaney). He was educated at Hadley,

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

under Mr. Lowell before matriculating at

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Sidney Sussex College (referred to informally as "Sidney") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in England. The College was founded in 1596 under the terms of the will of Frances Sidney, Countess of Sussex (1531–1589), wife ...

in 1667.

Career

Gostwick was knighted on 24 November 1668, before succeeding to his father's baronetcy on 24 February 1671. He was appointed Burgess of Bedfordshire in 1676. In 1679, he was appointed

High Sheriff of Bedfordshire This is a list of High Sheriffs of Bedfordshire. Pre-Conquest pre-1042: Aelfstan 1042-1066; Godric, Ralph Talgebose Bondi the staller 1066–1125 *1066-c.1084: Ansculf de Picquigny * Ralph Taillebois *c. 1080 Hugh de Beauchamp *1124 Rich ...

, serving until 1680. His grandfather had previously held the post from 1626 to 1627 as well as his great-grandfather, Sir William Gostwick, 1st Baronet, who held the post from 1595 to 1596. Although he was still purchasing land as late as 1686, when he added another Bedfordshire manor to his estate, he began borrowing money the following year and, by the time he stood for Parliament in 1698, had already taken out mortgages of over £10,000 on his property. His last recorded vote was on 18 June 1713, over the French commerce bill, which he opposed. He did not stand again, likely because he was crippled by debt. Around 1717, "he agreed to sell his entire estate for £47,000, some £9,000 less than the total of his debts, in the hope that his creditors would agree to take a loss and divide the purchase price among themselves, the encumbrances being 'so confused and intermixed, and the priorities unknown and so difficult to be discovered'. The scheme fell through, however, because of the refusal of a few creditors to accede, including the biggest, the

Duke of Marlborough General (United Kingdom), General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) was an Engl ...

," who had acquired about "£27,000-worth of the mortgages on Gostwick's estate."

Personal life

On 17 September 1668, he married Mary

Boteler Boteler is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alexander Boteler (1815–1892), 19th-century American politician and clerk from Virginia *Arnold le Boteler Arnold le Boteler, the first recorded 'lord' of the Welsh village of Pem ...

, a daughter of Sir Philip Boteler of Hatfield Woodhall,

. They were the parents of two sons and three daughters, including: * John Gostwick (d. 1715), who married Martha Hammond, daughter of

Anthony Hammond Anthony Hammond (1668–1738), of Somersham Place, Huntingdonshire and Lidlington, Bedfordshire, was an English official and Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1695 and 1708. He was also known as a poet a ...

, Esq. of Cambridge. * Mary Gostwick, who married Edward Nelthorpe, Esq., second son of Sir Goddard Nelthorpe, 2nd Baronet. Sir William died on 24 January 1720 at his lodgings in

St Martin-in-the-Fields St Martin-in-the-Fields is a Church of England parish church at the north-east corner of Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, London. It is dedicated to Saint Martin of Tours. There has been a church on the site since at least the mediev ...

, was buried at Willington, and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his grandson,

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

.George Edward Cokayne, editor, ''The Complete Baronetage, 5 volumes'' (no date (c. 1900); reprint,

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 ...

, 1983), volume I, page 100. His will specified "only £30 for mourning and leaving all his estate, real and personal, in trust for a grandson, an army officer on the Irish establishment." The trustees of his estate, which included the

James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos James Brydges, 1st Duke of Chandos, (6 January 16739 August 1744) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1698 until 1714, when he succeeded to the peerage as Baron Chandos, and vacated ...

and

Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford Admiral of the Fleet Edward Russell, 1st Earl of Orford, PC (1653 – 26 November 1727) was a Royal Navy officer and politician. After serving as a junior officer at the Battle of Solebay during the Third Anglo-Dutch War, he served as a capta ...

, "refused to act, and the unfortunate heir was obliged to apply for the administration himself. He gained nothing from his inheritance, for the estate was eventually sold off to satisfy the creditors, part in 1727 by an order of Chancery and the residue (for £51,000) four years later by private treaty, to the Duchess of Marlborough."

Descendants

Through his daughter Mary, he was a grandfather of James Nelthorpe, of Lynford Hall, MP for Tiverton from 1728 to 1734.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gostwick, Sir Edward 1650 births 1720 deaths People from the Borough of Bedford Baronets in the Baronetage of England English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713