William Dowdeswell (18 August 1682 – 5 September 1728) was a British land-owner 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. ...

from 1712 to 1722.

Early life

Dowdeswell was the son of Richard Dowdeswell, MP of Pull Court, Bushley,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

. His family owned the Pull Court estate near

Bushley Bushley is a small village and civil parish in the Malvern Hills district in Worcestershire, England. The church is dedicated to Saint Peter. Bredon School is located to the north of the village. History William Dowdeswell (1721–1775), the ...

.Parishes: Bushley'
A History of the County of Worcester: volume 4 (1924), pp. 45-49. Date accessed: 28 December 2010 Several members of the family were MPs, including William's father, who was MP for Tewkesbury in ten successive parliaments. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and matriculated at

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

in 1700 and then travelled abroad. In 1711 he succeeded his father. He married as his first wife Katharine Cokayne, daughter of Charles Cokayne, 3rd Viscount Cullen on 13 March 1712.

Political career

Dowdeswell was returned unopposed as

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

Tewkesbury Tewkesbury ( ) is a medieval market town and civil parish in the north of Gloucestershire, England. The town has significant history in the Wars of the Roses and grew since the building of Tewkesbury Abbey. It stands at the confluence of the Riv ...

at a by-election on 1 January 1712. He was returned again unopposed in

1713 Events January–March * January 17 – Tuscarora War: Colonel James Moore leads the Carolina militia out of Albemarle County, North Carolina, in a second offensive against the Tuscarora. Heavy snows force the troops to take ref ...

. At the

1715 Events For dates within Great Britain and the British Empire, as well as in the Russian Empire, the "old style" Julian calendar was used in 1715, and can be converted to the "new style" Gregorian calendar (adopted in the British Empire i ...

he was returned again as MP for Tewkesbury. He did not stand there at the 1722 general election. He was appointed

Sheriff of Worcestershire This is a list of sheriffs and since 1998 high sheriffs of Worcestershire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the ...

for 1726. He married secondly on 5 August 1719, Amy 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 ...

, MP and poet, of Somersham, Huntingdonshire.He was appointed

for 1726.

Later life and legacy

Dowdeswell died in 1728. He had a son and a daughter by his first wife and four sons by his second. He was succeeded by his son William Dowdeswell, who later became

Chancellor of the Exchequer The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...

References

1682 births 1728 deaths People educated at Eton College People from Malvern Hills District Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 High Sheriffs of Worcestershire {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub