William Griffith (c. 1686–1715) of Cefnamwlch, Caernarvonshire, was a Welsh Tory and later Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1708 to 1715. Griffith was the eldest son of John Griffith and his wife Elizabeth Bulkeley, daughter of

Robert Bulkeley, 2nd Viscount Bulkeley Robert Bulkeley, 2nd Viscount Bulkeley of Cashel (died 18 October 1688) was a British peer and politician. He was born the second son of Thomas Bulkeley, 1st Viscount Bulkeley of Baron Hill, Beaumaris and inherited the title from his father aft ...

. He 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 ...

on 8 June 1703, aged 16 and was admitted at

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

in 1703. He succeeded to the estate of his father in June 1687. He married Mary Lake, daughter of Sir Bibye Lake, 1st Baronet. Griffith 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 Caernarvon Boroughs at the

1708 general election Seventeen or 17 may refer to: *17 (number), the natural number following 16 and preceding 18 * one of the years 17 BC, AD 17, 1917, 2017 Literature Magazines * ''Seventeen'' (American magazine), an American magazine * ''Seventeen'' (Japanese m ...

under an agreement among the leading Tory families in the county. He was

High Sheriff of Carnarvonshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Caernarvonshire (or Carnarvonshire). The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in a county but over the centuries most of the responsibil ...

for the year 1709 to 1710. He was returned MP for the Boroughs again in

1710 In the Swedish calendar it was a common year starting on Saturday, one day ahead of the Julian and ten days behind the Gregorian calendar. Events January–March * January 1 – In Prussia, Cölln is merged with Alt-Berlin b ...

. However he changed his political allegiance at the

1713 general election 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 re ...

and was elected convincingly as Whig MP for

Caernarvonshire , HQ= County Hall, Caernarfon , Map= , Image= Flag , Motto= Cadernid Gwynedd (The strength of Gwynedd) , year_start= , Arms= ''Coat of arms of Caerna ...

. He was returned there unopposed at the

1715 general election 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 ...

. Griffith died without issue on 10 March 1715. His brother John succeeded to his estate and parliamentary seat.

References

1686 births 1715 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 {{Wales-GreatBritain-MP-stub