William Guidott (1671–1745), of
Laverstoke
Laverstoke is a village in north west Hampshire, England.
In the early 18th century, Laverstoke Mill was purchased by the Portals, a family of Huguenot immigrants from Languedoc who were establishing a successful paper making business. Henry de ...
and
Preston Candover
Preston Candover is a village and large civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has two churches, only one of which is still in use. Its nearest town is Basingstoke, approximately away. It has an acreage of , which lies on comparatively low grou ...
, Hampshire, was an English lawyer and Whig 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 1708 and 1741.
Early life
Guidott was the eldest son of William Guidott of
Wootton St Lawrence
Wootton St Lawrence is a small village in the civil parish of Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell, in Hampshire, England, west of Basingstoke. The name is derived from the Old English ''wudu tun'' meaning woodland settlement or farm.
History
The ...
,
Hampshire
Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial county, ceremonial and non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties of England, county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English citi ...
and his first wife Grace. He matriculated at
New Inn Hall
New Inn Hall was one of the earliest medieval halls of the University of Oxford. It was located in New Inn Hall Street, Oxford.
History Trilleck's Inn
The original building on the site was Trilleck's Inn, a medieval hall or hostel for stu ...
,
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
, on 22 March 1685, aged 14,
and on 10 November 1686 became a student of
Lincoln's Inn
The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...
.
In 1698, he succeeded his father and like his father was Steward of Andover, serving from 1703 for the rest of his life. He married Jane Hunt, daughter of James Hunt of Popham, Hampshire by licence dated 1 July 1706. In 1707 he succeeded his uncle Anthony Guidott as lawyer to the Marlborough family.
Career
Guidott was returned unopposed as Whig
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
Andover
Andover may refer to:
Places Australia
* Andover, Tasmania
Canada
* Andover Parish, New Brunswick
* Perth-Andover, New Brunswick
United Kingdom
* Andover, Hampshire, England
** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station
United States
* Ando ...
at the
1708 British general election
The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland.
The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...
. He voted in favour of naturalizing the Palatines in 1709, and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He married, as his second wife, Jane Child, daughter of Sir Francis Child, on 6 May 1710. At the
1710 British general election
The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto.
...
, he was returned unopposed again. He voted for the motion of ‘
No Peace Without Spain
No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty cou ...
’ on 7 December 1711, and voted against the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. He was returned for Andover in a contest at the
1713 British general election
The 1713 British general election produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 Robert Harley had led a government appointed after the downfall of the Whig Junto, attempting to pursue a moderate and non-controversial policy, b ...
.
[
Guidott was returned as a Whig again at the ]1715 British general election
The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...
and voted with the Administration on the septennial bill in 1716 and voted for the Peerage Bill
{{short description, Proposed British law of 1719
The Peerage Bill was a 1719 measure proposed by the British Whigs (British political party), Whig government led by James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope and Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland whic ...
. He became bencher of his Inn in 1719. 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 was again returned for Andover. In 1727 he was sued in Chancery by the Duchess of Marlborough for the recovery of £9,547, which she claimed he had embezzled. He was ordered to pay £5,494, which on appeal was increased by £754. 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 ...
he lost his seat at Andover, after he had quarrelled with the corporation. He was returned for Andover again at a by-election on 20 January 1730. He voted with the Opposition in every recorded division He was returned unopposed 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 ...
. At the 1741 British general election
The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...
.
Guidott married, as his third wife, Patience Soper, daughter of John Soper of Preston Candover, Hampshire, on 30 November 1739. They lived in Preston House, which he built at Preston Candover
Preston Candover is a village and large civil parish in Hampshire, England. It has two churches, only one of which is still in use. Its nearest town is Basingstoke, approximately away. It has an acreage of , which lies on comparatively low grou ...
near Basingstoke
Basingstoke ( ) is the largest town in the county of Hampshire. It is situated in south-central England and lies across a valley at the source of the River Loddon, at the far western edge of The North Downs. It is located north-east of Southa ...
and at Andover. He left no children and on the death of his wife in 1749 Preston Candover passed to their kinsman and heir William Woodroffe, who adopted the name of Guidott.
References
1671 births
1745 deaths
People from Laverstoke
Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford
Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies
British MPs 1708–1710
British MPs 1710–1713
British MPs 1713–1715
British MPs 1715–1722
British MPs 1722–1727
British MPs 1727–1734
British MPs 1734–1741
People from Preston Candover
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