Sir Walter Wagstaffe Bagot, 5th Baronet (3 August 1702 – 20 January 1768) of

Blithfield Hall Blithfield Hall (pronounced locally as Bliffield), is a privately-owned Grade I listed country house in Staffordshire, England, situated some east of Stafford, southwest of Uttoxeter and north of Rugeley. The Hall, with its embattled towers ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

was an English Tory 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. ...

between 1724 and 1768.

Early life

Bagot was the eldest surviving son of

Sir Edward Bagot, 4th Baronet Sir Edward Bagot, 4th Baronet (21 January 1674 – May 1712) succeeded to the Baronetcy of Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire, on the death of his father Sir Walter Bagot in 1704. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford. He matriculated in 1691 a ...

, MP, and his wife Frances Wagstaffe, daughter of Sir Thomas Wagstaffe of Tachbrook, Warwickshire. In 1712, he succeeded his father to the

baronetcy 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 ...

and Blithfield. He was educated at Isleworth and Colney Hatch, Middlesex and matriculated at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

in 1720. He married Lady Barbara Legge, daughter of

William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth (14 October 1672 – 15 December 1750), was Lord Privy Seal from 1713 to 1714. He was a Hanoverian Tory, supporting the Hanoverian succession following the death of Queen Anne. Life The only son of George ...

MP, on 27 July 1724.

Career

Bagot was returned as a Tory

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

Newcastle under Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme ( RP: , ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. The 2011 census population of the town was 75,082, whilst the wider borough had a population of 1 ...

at a by-election on 20 November 1724. He earned a reproach from his brother in law, Lord Lewisham, for his neglect of his parliamentary duties. At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

he was returned unopposed as MP for

. He voted consistently against the government. He was returned unopposed again at the 1734 British general election. He made his only recorded speech on 26 February 1735, when he moved unsuccessfully for a clause to be included in the mutiny bill which would allow newly enlisted soldiers to obtain their immediate discharge if they wanted. In 1737 he became Trustee of the Radcliffe Library at Oxford and was granted a DCL He became founding governor of the

Foundling Hospital The Foundling Hospital in London, England, was founded in 1739 by the philanthropic sea captain Thomas Coram. It was a children's home established for the "education and maintenance of exposed and deserted young children." The word "hospital" w ...

in 1739. At the 1741 British general election, he was returned unopposed again as MP tor Staffordshire, but at the 1747 British general election he was returned after a fierce contest. His opponent petitioned but Bagot took part in a gathering to organize a subscription against the petition at the Lichfield races in September. This turned into a Jacobite demonstration against the Leveson Gower family who had changed their allegiance to the Whigs. At the 1754 British general election Bagot withdrew from Parliament in favour of his son,

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 ...

who was returned at Staffordshire. On 30 November 1762 Bagot reluctantly agreed to stand at the

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

by-election at the urging of Thomas Jenner, president of Magdalen. He was returned as MP for Oxford University on 16 December 1762. His first reported vote was on 10 February 1764, which was with the Administration against repealing the cider tax. The only other reported vote was on 27 February 1767 which was with the Opposition on the land tax.

Death and legacy

Bagot died on 20 January 1768, leaving by his wife Barbara, eight sons and eight daughters. Their children included: *

William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot (28 February 1728 – 22 October 1798), known as Sir William Bagot, 6th Baronet, from 1768 to 1780, was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to ...

(1728–1798) * Charles Bagot (1730–1793), who married Catherine Legge, a niece of the Earl of Dartmouth, and who changed his name to Charles Chester by Act of Parliament in 1755. * Reverend Walter Bagot of

Pype Hayes Hall Pype Hayes Hall is a former mansion house in the Pype Hayes area of Erdington, Birmingham, England. The hall's grounds now form Pype Hayes Park. It was formerly in the historic county of Warwickshire before being transferred into the new coun ...

(1731–1808), who married firstly Anne Swinnerton; their daughter Louisa-Frances married Rev. Richard

Levett Levett is a surname of Anglo-Norman origin, deriving from eLivet, which is held particularly by families and individuals resident in England and British Commonwealth territories. Origins This surname comes from the village of Livet-en-Ouche, no ...

Milford Hall Milford Hall is a privately owned 18th-century English country house at Milford, near Stafford. It is the family seat of the Levett Haszard family and is a Grade II listed building. Association with Levett family The estate passed to the Levett ...

, Staffordshire. (Coincidentally, Sir Walter Wagstaffe Bagot had built a large home at Blithfield for Rev. Richard Levett, grandfather of the rector who later married into the Bagot family.) He married secondly Mary Ward; their daughter, Jane Margaret, married the English judge Sir

Edward Vaughan Williams Sir Edward Vaughan Williams (6 June 1797 – 2 November 1875) was a British judge. Life Born Blithfield, Staffordshire,''1861 England Census'' he was the eldest surviving son of Welsh barrister John Williams. He was educated first at Winchester C ...

in 1826 and they were the grandparents of the composer

Ralph Vaughan Williams Ralph Vaughan Williams, (; 12 October 1872– 26 August 1958) was an English composer. His works include operas, ballets, chamber music, secular and religious vocal pieces and orchestral compositions including nine symphonies, written over ...

. * Richard Bagot (1733–1813), who married a daughter of

William Howard, Viscount Andover William Howard, styled by courtesy Viscount Andover (23 December 1714 – 15 July 1756), of Elford Hall, Staffordshire, was British Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1737 to 1747. Early life Howard was the eldest surviving son ...

and changed his name by Act of Parliament to Howard. * Right Reverend Lewis Bagot (1740–1802) * Charlotte Sneyd (died 8 October 1829), who married

Davies Davenport Davies Davenport of Capesthorne Hall and Court Garden, Marlow (29 August 1757 — 5 February 1837) was a politician, soldier and landowner who served as Member of Parliament for Cheshire and High Sheriff of Cheshire. Early life Davenport was ...

Capesthorne Hall Capesthorne Hall is a country house near the village of Siddington, Cheshire, England. The house and its private chapel were built in the early 18th century, replacing an earlier hall and chapel nearby. They were built to Neoclassical d ...

and was mother to

Edward Davies Davenport Edward Davies Davenport of Capesthorne Hall (27 April 1778 – 9 September 1847) was a British landowner, High Sheriff of Cheshire and Member of Parliament for Shaftesbury. Early life Davenport was born the son of Davies Davenport of Capesth ...

and grandmother to William Bromley-Davenport

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bagot, Walter, 3rd Baronet 1702 births 1768 deaths Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford Baronets in the Baronetage of England British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1761–1768 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Newcastle-under-Lyme Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Oxford University