William Cage (28 March 1666 – 21 January 1738) was an English Tory politician who sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

from 1702 to 1705 and in the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the third estate of th ...

from 1710 to 1715. Cage was the son of William Cage, lawyer of

Hollingbourne Hollingbourne is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the southward slope of the North Downs to the east of the county town, Maidstone. The parish population is around 900 and has th ...

, Kent and his wife Cicely Culpeper, daughter of Sir

Cheney Culpeper Sir Cheney Culpeper (1601–1663) was an English landowner, a supporter of Samuel Hartlib, and a largely non-political figure of his troubled times, interested in technological progress and reform. His sister Judith was the second wife of John Co ...

and Elizabeth Stede. His father and grandfather died in 1676 and 1677 and he succeeded to his grandfather's estate at Milgate Park. He was

High Sheriff of Kent The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown (prior to 1974 the office previously known as sheriff)."Sheriffs appointed for a county or Greater London shall be known as high sheriffs, and any reference in any enactment or instrum ...

in 1694 but was fired from the justice's bench in December 1695 and arrested in February 1696 for betraying confidants. Nevertheless, he became a Deputy Lieutenant and a colonel of the militia by 1701.David Hayton, Eveline Cruickshanks, Stuart Handley ''The House of Commons, 1690–1715, Volume 2''
/ref> At the 1701 election, Cage stood for parliament at

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

but was unsuccessful as a result of a smear campaign under the allegations of disloyalty. However, 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 ...

(MP) for Rochester in 1702 and sat until 1705 when following his defeat he was described as a "violent man". He was re-elected for Rochester again in 1710 in a Tory landslide and sat until 1715 when he declined to stand.

Personal life

Cage married Catherine before 1690 and had three sons and four daughters. Cage died at age 71, after a long retirement from politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cage, William English MPs 1702–1705 1666 births 1738 deaths British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 High Sheriffs of Kent People from Rochester, Kent Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People from Hollingbourne