William Jessop (c. 1665–1734) of

Broom Hall Broom Hall is a historic house in the City of Sheffield, England that gives its name to the surrounding Broomhall district of the city. The earliest part of the house is timber-framed; it has been tree-ring dated to c1498, and was built by th ...

, Sheffield, Yorkshire, was an English lawyer, and Whig politician who sat in the

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and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 mem ...

for 32 years between 1702 and 1734. He was a judge on the Anglesey and Chester circuits.

Early life

Jessop was the fifth son of Francis Jessop, of Broomhall, Yorkshire and his wife Barbara Eyre, daughter of Robert Eyre of Highlow, Derbyshire. He was admitted at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and Wale ...

in 1683 and was called to the bar in 1690. In 1691 he succeeded his father to Broom Hall. He married by licence dated 15 January 1697, Mary Darcy, daughter of James Darcy.

Career

Jessop was legal adviser to

John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle John Holles, Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, KG, PC (9 January 1662 – 15 July 1711) was an English peer. Early life Holles was born in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, the son of the 3rd Earl of Clare and his wife Grace Pierrepont. Grace was a d ...

, on whose recommendation he first stood unsuccessfully for election at Aldborough in 1701. He 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 ...

for Aldborough at the 1702 general election and again in 1705. In 1707, he was appointed a Justice of the Anglesey circuit. He was returned unopposed for Aldborough as a Whig in 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 ...

. On 14 January 1709, he fought a duel in Hyde Park with William Levinz an opponent of the Duke, and was ‘run into the belly, but not dangerous’. He was returned unopposed as MP for Aldborough at the 1710 general election. After the Duke of Newcastle died in 1711, his widow disputed the will which left his estates to his nephew,

Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle upon Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, (21 July 169317 November 1768) was a British Whig statesman who served as the 4th and 6th Prime Minister of Great Britain, his official life extende ...

. Jessop sided with Pelham and stood as a Whig on Pelham's interest for Aldborough in 1713 but was defeated by the Duchess. 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 ...

, Jessop regained his seat at Aldborough, after Pelham's dispute with the Duchess of Newcastle had been determined in Pelham's favour. He was a consistent supporter of the Administration. Also in 1715 he was promoted to chief justice of the Anglesey circuit, and became a bencher of his Inn. In 1717, he was appointed Commissioner and Receiver of the Alienation Office and was re-elected at the resulting by-election on 24 July 1717. He held the post for the rest of his life. In 1721 during the debates on the directors of the

South Sea Company The South Sea Company (officially The Governor and Company of the merchants of Great Britain, trading to the South Seas and other parts of America, and for the encouragement of the Fishery) was a British joint-stock company founded in Ja ...

, he was mentioned as having lost money in another fraudulent company of one of the Directors, and spoke strongly against letting the directors keep a percentage of their estates in return for prompt payment. He was returned unopposed for Aldborough in 1722 and in 1727. In 1729, he was appointed a

Puisne Justice of Chester The Justice of Chester was the chief judicial authority for the county palatine of Chester, from the establishment of the county until the abolition of the Great Sessions in Wales and the palatine judicature in 1830. Within the County Palatine (w ...

and was re-elected in consequent by-election on 3 March 1729. He then remained in office until his death. He was returned attain for Aldborough As a placeman he always voted with the Government, except in 1732 on the army issue. He was returned for the last time at the 1734 general election.

Death and legacy

Jessop died on 8 November 1734. He had a son and four daughters. His son James inherited the title Baron Darcy of Navan from his maternal grandfather but predeceased his father without issue in 1733. Jessop's daughter Barbara married Andrew Wilkinson, who succeeded to his seat in Parliament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jessop, William 1660s births 1734 deaths Members of Gray's Inn Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Year of birth uncertain