William Knollys (15 October 1694 – 6 June 1740), known as Viscount Wallingford, of St George's, Hanover Square, Westminster, was a British Army officer 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 1733 to 1740. Knollys was the eldest surviving son of Charles Knollys of

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

and his wife Elizabeth Lister, daughter of Michael Lister of Burwell, Lincolnshire. He joined the army and was ensign in Colonel Pocock's regiment in 1715 and cornet in the

2nd Dragoon Guards The 2nd Dragoon Guards (Queen's Bays) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army. It was first raised in 1685 by the Earl of Peterborough as the Earl of Peterborough's Regiment of Horse by merging four existing troops of horse. Renamed several ti ...

in 1718 of which he was lieutenant in 1727. He married his first cousin, Mary Catherine Law, daughter of John Law, director general of the French finances, and his aunt Catherine Knollys. Knollys' father claimed to be descended from William Knollys MP, the 1st

Earl of Banbury Earl of Banbury was a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1626 for William Knollys. He had already been created Baron Knollys in 1603 and Viscount Wallingford in 1616, both in the Peerage of England. However, the paternity of hi ...

, and called himself the 4th Earl, while his son took the courtesy title of Viscount Wallingford. However, the father's claim had been rejected by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

in 1697. Knollys stood unsuccessfully for

Banbury Banbury is a historic market town on the River Cherwell in Oxfordshire, South East England. It had a population of 54,335 at the 2021 Census. Banbury is a significant commercial and retail centre for the surrounding area of north Oxfordshire ...

at a by-election on 21 January 1730, but was elected 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 Banbury at a second attempt at a by-election 9 April 1733. 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 ...

and voted with the Administration on the Spanish convention in 1739 and on the place bill in 1740. Knollys became 2nd major in the 1st troop of Life Guards in 1737. He died on 6 June 1740, pre-deceasing his father.

References

1694 births 1740 deaths Politicians from Oxfordshire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub