William Praed (24 June 1747 – 9 October 1833) was an English businessman, banker, 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 1774 to 1808. He is not to be confused with his first cousin of the same name, William Mackworth Praed,

serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

(1756–1835) and revising barrister for Bath who was the father of

Winthrop Mackworth Praed Winthrop Mackworth Praed (28 July 180215 July 1839)—typically written as W. Mackworth Praed—was an English politician and poet. Life Early life Praed was born in London, United Kingdom. The family name of Praed was derived from the marri ...

Early life and family

He was the oldest son of

Humphrey Mackworth Praed Humphrey is both a masculine given name and a surname. An earlier form, not attested since Medieval times, was Hunfrid. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name Medieval period :''Ordered chronologically'' *Hunfrid of P ...

(''c''. 1718–1803) of the manor of Trevethoe, near St Ives in Cornwall. His father was a

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 St Ives and then for

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. His mother Mary was a daughter of William Forester, the MP for Wenlock. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, C ...

and at

Magdalen College, Oxford Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...

. In 1778, he married Elizabeth Tyringham, daughter of the banker and MP Barnaby Backwell, of

Tyringham Tyringham (/ˈtiːrɪŋəm/) is a village in the unitary authority area of the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. It is located about a mile and a half north of Newport Pagnell. The village name is an Old English language word, an ...

in Buckinghamshire. They had ten children.

Career

A partner in his family's banks in Cornwall, Praed also founded Praed's & Co in

Fleet Street, London Fleet Street is a major street mostly in the City of London. It runs west to east from Temple Bar at the boundary with the City of Westminster to Ludgate Circus at the site of the London Wall and the River Fleet from which the street was na ...

. His family mostly controlled the borough of St Ives, which elected him to the

at the 1774 general election. An

election petition An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election. Outcomes When a petition is lodged against an election return, there are 4 possible outcomes: # The election is declared void. The result is q ...

was lodged alleging various forms of corruption, and Praed's election was declared void. He won the resulting by-election, and thereafter spent enough money to secure control of the borough until 1802, when he sold one of the seats. Having already built a new country seat at

Tyringham Hall Tyringham Hall (/ˈtiːrɪŋəm/) is a Grade I listed stately home, originally designed by Sir John Soane in 1792. It is located in Tyringham near Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England. Architecture The house was built on the site of th ...

in Buckinghamshire, he sold Trevethoe manor, and his interest in Cornwall waned. In 1806 he sold the second seat, and secured election at

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 ...

, where his money had won over the corporation. That election was voided on petition, and Praed lost the resulting by-election; he never returned to Parliament. Praed's business interests were a higher priority than parliamentary affairs, and he was particularly focused on the

Grand Junction Canal The Grand Junction Canal is a canal in England from Braunston in Northamptonshire to the River Thames at Brentford, with a number of branches. The mainline was built between 1793 and 1805, to improve the route from the Midlands to London, by-p ...

, of which he was chairman. He steered through Parliament the bill which authorised its construction, and

Praed Street Praed Street () is a street in Paddington, west London, in the City of Westminster, most notable for being the location of London Paddington station. It runs south-westerly, straight from Edgware Road to Craven Road, Spring Street and Eastbo ...

in Paddington (near the canal's

Paddington Basin Paddington Basin is the name given to a long canal basin, and its surrounding area, in Paddington, London. The basin commences 500 m south of the junction known as Little Venice, of the Regent's Canal and the Paddington Arm of the Grand ...

) is named after him.

Death

He died in October 1833 and was buried in

Church with a monument carved by

William Behnes William Behnes (1795 – 3 January 1864) was a British sculptor of the early 19th century. Life Born in London, Behnes was the son of a Hanoverian piano-maker and his English wife. His brother was Henry Behnes, also a sculptor, albeit an i ...

.Dictionary of British Sculptors, 1660–1851, Rupert Gunnis

References

1747 births 1833 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford English bankers English businesspeople Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for St Ives British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for St Ives UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 Tyringham {{England-UK-MP-stub