William Thornton (1712/13–1769) of Cattal was an English politician, Member of Parliament for , described also as a "celebrated though eccentric sportsman". He raised a militia troop to oppose the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, and gained royal favour.

Life

He was the son of Sir William Thornton of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

and his wife Elizabeth, born at Netherton. He attended Mr Jackson's school in

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

, was admitted to St John's College, Cambridge in 1731, at age 18. At the time of the 1745 Jacobite Rebellion, Thornton raised at his own expense the "Yorkshire Blues" to fight the troops of the

Young Pretender Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

, and took part in the battle of Falkirk. He became Colonel of the 2nd West Yorks Militia. He served as MP for York from 1747 to 1754, and from 1758 to 1761. He travelled to Hanover with George II, and turned down the offer of a baronetcy. In parliament, he initially supported the government, but became part of the opposition in 1751. He was an opponent in 1753 to the idea of a national

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses in ...

. Thornton died on 10 July 1769. The family owned Lendal Tower in York, used as a municipal water supply, from about 1719 to 1779. In 1756 a mortage was taken out on it, by Thornton, to install a

Newcomen engine The atmospheric engine was invented by Thomas Newcomen in 1712, and is often referred to as the Newcomen fire engine (see below) or simply as a Newcomen engine. The engine was operated by condensing steam drawn into the cylinder, thereby creati ...

for pumping.

Family

Thornton married: #Isabella Norton (died 1748), daughter of William Norton of Sawley, North Yorkshire; and #In 1749, Mary Myster, daughter of John Myster of

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, with whom he had a son Thomas Thornton, and a daughter Mary (1751–1842), who married Samuel Francis Barlow (c.1747–1800) of Middlethorpe Hall.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, William 1769 deaths British MPs 1747–1754 Politicians from York British MPs 1754–1761 Year of birth uncertain Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge