William Powlett (c. 1693–1757), of

Chilbolton Chilbolton is a village and civil parish in Hampshire, England, near to Stockbridge. It is situated north of Southampton and south of Andover. Its most notable feature is the Chilbolton Observatory situated on the disused RAF Chilbolton airfie ...

and

Easton, Hampshire Easton is a village in Hampshire, England, situated on the River Itchen, 2¾ miles north east of Winchester. It is in the civil parish of Itchen Valley. In 1870–72, John Goring's Imperial Gazetteer of England and Wales described Easton lik ...

, was a British landowner 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 1729 and 1757. Powlett was the eldest son of

Lord William Powlett Lord William Powlett (baptized 18 August 1666 – 25 September 1729) was an English Member of Parliament. He was the younger son of Charles Paulet, 1st Duke of Bolton, and his second wife, Mary Scrope. Career Lord William held a number of of ...

and his first wife Louisa, daughter of Armand-Nompar de Caumont, Marquis de Montpouillon, and granddaughter of Henri-Nompar de Caumont, 3rd Duc de La Force. He matriculated at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

on 27 October 1710, aged 17. In 1718 and again in 1721, he was Mayor of Lymington. He married Lady Annabella Bennet, daughter of

Charles Bennet, 1st Earl of Tankerville Charles Bennet, 1st Earl of Tankerville (1674 – 21 May 1722), known as The Lord Ossulston between 1695 and 1714, was a British peer. Background Tankerville was the son of the book collector Bridget Bennett and John Bennet, 1st Baron Ossulston. ...

, on 10 February 1721. In 1729, he succeeded to the estates of his father. Powlett was returned 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 Lynington on the interest of his cousin,

Charles Powlett, 3rd Duke of Bolton Charles Powlett (sometimes spelled Paulet), 3rd Duke of Bolton (3 September 168526 August 1754), styled Earl of Wiltshire from 1685 until 1699, and Marquess of Winchester from 1699 until 1722, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat ...

, at a contested by-election 13 May 1729. He supported the Government until 1734, when he followed the Duke into opposition, voting against the Government on the repeal of the Septennial Act. He stood unsuccessfully at

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

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 ...

but was returned 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 ...

after a contest. He voted against the Government until 1746, when he voted with them on the Hanoverians. He was defeated at Winchester at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th 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 Henr ...

and again at a by-election in 1751. At the

1754 British general election The 1754 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Owing to the exten ...

, Powlett was returned unopposed for Whitchurch on the interest of his brother-in-law, John Wallop Lord Portsmouth. Powlett died on 28 February 1757 leaving a son and daughter. His daughter Annabella married Rev. Richard Smyth of Itchen and was the mother of William Powlett Powlett. His brother Charles Armand Powlett was also an MP.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powlett, William 1690s births 1757 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...