Sir William Lewen (c. 1657 – 1722), of Ewell, Surrey, was a British merchant and Tory politician who sat in the

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between 1708 and 1722. He was

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in 1717.

Early life

Lewen was the second son of Robert Lewen of Wimborne Minster, Dorset. His elder brother George set up as a merchant at Poole, while he himself went to London where he became a wine importer. He was a member of the Haberdashers Company. He married Susannah Taylor daughter of Robert Taylor, vintner of the Devil Tavern and of Turnham Green, Middlesex, on 30 July 1685.Epsom and Ewell History ExplorerThe Lewens 'of Dorsetshire' and Ewell, Surrey
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Career

By 1696, Lewen was deputy-governor of the Royal Lustring Company. which dealt in a particular type of silk which was associated with the Huguenots. In January 1698 he received a royal pardon for trading with France during the war. Although the company was given a Royal Charter in 1698, its fortunes declined with changing fashions. Lewen was Common Councillor for Billingsgate from 1700 to 1703. By 1706 he was living at

Ewell Ewell ( , ) is a suburban area with a village centre in the borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, approximately south of central London and northeast of Epsom. In the 2011 Census, the settlement had a population of 34,872, a majority of wh ...

and subsequently purchased an estate there. In December 1707 he tried to become an Alderman but was unsuccessful. However; next year in 1708, he was elected Alderman for Castle Baynard, remaining for the rest of his life. 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 ...

, he was returned as

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for

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

, when his brother was mayor there. He became Master of the Haberdashers in 1709 but was one of the unsuccessful Tory candidates for a directorship of the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...

. He voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. Although Lewen did not stand for Poole at the

1710 general election Year 171 ( CLXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Severus and Herennianus (or, less frequently, year 924 ''Ab urbe con ...

, he was returned at a by-election on 7 March1711. He was a Colonel in the Blue Regiment of the City Militia from 1711 to 1714 and was

Sheriff of London Two sheriffs are elected annually for the City of London by the Liverymen of the City livery company, livery companies. Today's sheriffs have only nominal duties, but the historical officeholders had important judicial responsibilities. They have ...

for the year 1712 to 1713. He was knighted on 17 December 1712. In Parliament, he voted against the ministry over the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. He was returned unopposed as Tory MP for Poole at the general elections of

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and

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Death and legacy

Lewen died without issue on 16 March 1722, shortly after Parliament was dissolved and was buried at St Mary Ewell. His heir was his nephew George Lewen. His wife Susannah died in 1737.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewen, William 1650s births 1722 deaths Year of birth uncertain Sheriffs of the City of London 18th-century lord mayors of London 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 People from Poole