William Acton (c. 1684–1744), of Bramford Hall, Suffolk, was an English Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1722 and 1734. Acton was born at Bramford,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, the second son of John Acton of Bramford Hall and either his first wife Isabel Buxton, daughter of J. Buxton, or his second wife Elizabeth Lamb, daughter of J. Lamb. He was admitted at

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the University after Peterhouse. It was refounded ...

on 30 January 1701. In 1704, he succeeded his elder brother John to the family estate. Acton was returned as 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 Orford at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

. He voted consistently against the Government. He did not stand 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 ...

but was returned unopposed for Orford at a by-election on 31 January 1729. He did not stand at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Robert Walpole's incr ...

. He was High Sheriff of Suffolk for the year 1739 to 1740. Acton died without heirs on 23 January 1744 and was buried in St Peters church,

Baylham Baylham is a village and civil parish in the Mid Suffolk district of Suffolk, England, about northwest of Ipswich and southeast of Stowmarket. The buildings making up the village begin either side of the B113 road, with the majority following U ...

, Suffolk. He left £100 towards building the chapel of Clare College. Bramford Hall, which was built by John Acton in the late 17th century, had 15 to 19 hearths in 1674. The park was over half a mile across in 1783 when Nathanial Acton was the owner. Most of the house was demolished early in 1956.Suffolk Heritage Explorer - BRF 038 - Bramford Hall; Bramford Park
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References

17th-century births 1744 deaths Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies High Sheriffs of Suffolk British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub