William Turner (1777 – 17 July 1842) was an English

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

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 1832 to 1841. Shrigley Hall

Life

Turner was the youngest of four sons of a family that arrived in

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

at the beginning of the nineteenth century and opened a

calico Calico (; in British usage since 1505) is a heavy plain-woven textile made from unbleached, and often not fully processed, cotton. It may also contain unseparated husk parts. The fabric is far coarser than muslin, but less coarse and thick than ...

printing works at Mill Hill. Turner married his cousin Jane and acquired an estate at

Shrigley Hall Shrigley Hall is a former country house standing to the northwest of the village of Pott Shrigley, Cheshire, England. It has since been used as a school, when a chapel was added, and later as a hotel and country club operated by The Hotel Co ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

. He served as

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

in 1826. In 1827 his only daughter Ellen was tricked into eloping with Edward Gibbon Wakefield, an unscrupulous fortune hunter. They married in Gretna Green. The case was known as the

Shrigley abduction The Shrigley abduction was an 1827 British case of a forced marriage by Edward Gibbon Wakefield to the 15-year-old heiress Ellen Turner of Pott Shrigley. The couple were married in Gretna Green, Scotland, and travelled to Calais, France, before T ...

, and the marriage was later annulled by the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the Bicameralism, upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by Life peer, appointment, Hereditary peer, heredity or Lords Spiritual, official function. Like the ...

. Wakefield was jailed for three years.Cotton Town - The Blackburn Elections of 1832
/ref> The Turners were popular in Blackburn and William was much liked as an employer. At the 1832 general election, he ran for the newly created constituency of

, "almost like a bomb shell, offering himself to the Free and independent electors of both parties". He made an election speech outside the Old Bull Hotel to a large crowd of working men, saying, "Gentlemen, They said I wouldn’t come; but I am come, and will be here at the day of the election. I'll stand the contest. It rains; it will wet you and will wet me. Good night. Give us three cheers." He then went into the inn and bought barrels of beer for the crowds. Turner was elected as 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 ...

(MP) for Blackburn and held the seat until the 1841 general election, when he was defeated by the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

candidate

John Hornby John Hornby (1880–1927) was an English explorer, best known for his expeditions in the Arctic region of northern Canada, notably in the "Barren Lands" in the Northwest Territories of Canada. Biography Hornby was born to a wealthy family ...

. In 1833, William and his wife built almshouses on Bank Top Blackburn. Turner died at his home in Mill Hill at the age of 65 and was buried in St. Johns churchyard Blackburn.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turner, William 1777 births 1842 deaths UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Politics of Blackburn with Darwen People from Blackburn High Sheriffs of Cheshire Burials in Lancashire