Sir William Heathcote, 1st Baronet (15 March 1693 – 10 May 1751), of Hursley, Hampshire, was a British merchant 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. ...

between 1722 and 1741. Heathcote was the second son of Samuel Heathcote, Esq., of Hackney, Middlesex, younger brother of

Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet Sir Gilbert Heathcote, 1st Baronet (2 January 1652 – 25 January 1733), was a British merchant and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1701 and 1733. He was a Governor of the Bank of England and was L ...

, and an intimate friend of

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinkers and commonly known as the "father of liberalism ...

, whom he assisted in his work of regulating the coin of this kingdom. Heathcote was a successful merchant who purchased the

Hursley Hursley is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England with a population of around 900 in 2011. It is located roughly midway between Romsey and Winchester on the A3090. Besides the village the parish includes the hamlets of Standon and ...

estate in 1718. Between the years of 1721 and 1724 William built a red brick, Queen Anne style mansion now known as

Hursley House Hursley House is an 18th-century Queen Anne style mansion in Hursley, near Winchester in the English county of Hampshire. The building is Grade II* listed. History The Hursley estate was bought by William Heathcote, MP from the daughters of R ...

on the site of a hunting lodge. Heathcote represented

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of Central Milton Keynes, sou ...

in the

from 1722 to 1727 and

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

from 1729 to 1741. On 16 August 1733 he was created a baronet, of Hursley in the County of Southampton. Heathcote married Elizabeth, only daughter of

Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield Thomas Parker, 1st Earl of Macclesfield, (23 July 1666 – 28 April 1732) was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1710. He was Lord Chief Justice from 1710 to 1718 and acted briefly as one of the regents befo ...

, in 1720. They had six sons and three daughters: *Mary (d. 20 May 1812) married

Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield Thomas Parker, 3rd Earl of Macclesfield FRS (12 October 1723 – 9 February 1795), styled Viscount Parker between 1732 and 1764, was a British peer and politician. Background Macclesfield was the son of George Parker, 2nd Earl of Macclesfield, ...

. They had two sons, and a daughter. *Elizabeth Drake (1730–1797) married Vice-Adm. Francis William Drake. They had two daughters. *Reverend Henry (circa 1721–1803) * Sir Thomas Heathcote, 2nd Baronet (23 July 1721 – 27 June 1787) *George (d. 31 March 1735) Died in infancy. *Rev. William (10 Sep 1723 – 22 Sep 1748) *Gilbert (1732–1800) *Jenetta (1737–1809) He died in 1751 and the estate and baronetcy passed to his son, Thomas.

His sister, Lady Drake

Anne Lady Drake was baptized at Hackney ''anno 1702'', and married Sir Francis Henry Drake, Bart. of Buckland in Dorsetshire. One of their sons was Francis William Drake, who married his first cousin, Sir William Heathcote's daughter, Elizabeth in 1763. Another son was

Sir Francis Samuel Drake, 1st Baronet Sir Francis Samuel Drake, 1st Baronet (1729 – 19 October 1789) was an officer of the Royal Navy. He served during the Seven Years' War and the American War of Independence, rising to the rank of Rear admiral (Royal Navy), Rear-admiral of the ...

. The Hackney church records that "Lady Ann Drake, asburied Nov. 5, 1768."

References

1693 births 1751 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain

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 ...

Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub