William Tempest (31 January 1653 – 16 March 1700) was a Member of Parliament and a member of the Tempest family of

Old Durham Old Durham is a hamlet in County Durham, in England. It is situated approximately 1 mile east of central Durham and south of Gilesgate. The most northerly remains of a Romanised farmstead in the Roman Empire were excavated at Old Durham du ...

. The son of John Tempest and Elizabeth, the sole heiress of John Heath, he represented the City of Durham 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 ...

in 1678, 1680 and 1689.Robert Surtees, ''History of Durham, Vol.I, Appendix cl.'' He was a defeated candidate in the elections of 1675,1679 and 1688. By 1694 was referred to as Colonel Tempest. He may have been implicated in the conspiracy of John Fenwick against

William III William III or William the Third may refer to: Kings * William III of Sicily (c. 1186–c. 1198) * William III of England and Ireland or William III of Orange or William II of Scotland (1650–1702) * William III of the Netherlands and Luxembourg ...

, as he was recorded as under

house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...

at his home of Old Durham on 19 March 1695. In 1677 he married Elizabeth Sudbury, niece of the

Dean of Durham The Dean of Durham is the "head" (''primus inter pares'' – first among equals) and chair of the Chapter, the ruling body of Durham Cathedral. The dean and chapter are based at the ''Cathedral Church of Christ, Blessed Mary the Virgin and St Cu ...

. Their eldest son John Tempest (1679–1737) was elected as the Member of Parliament for the County of Durham in 1705.Robert Surtees,''History of Durham, Vol.IV, p.93'' He was ancestor to the Vane-Tempest-Stewarts, Earls Vane and

Marquesses of Londonderry Marquess of Londonderry, of the County of Londonderry ( ), is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. History The title was created in 1816 for Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry. He had earlier represented County Down in the Irish House of ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tempest, William 1653 births 1700 deaths Members of the Parliament of England for City of Durham English MPs 1679 English MPs 1681 English MPs 1690–1695