William Colepeper (died 1726) was an English

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

Life

Colepeper was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Colepeper, of Hollingbourn (since the 18th-century

Hollingbourne Hollingbourne is a village and civil parish in the borough of Maidstone in Kent, England. The parish is located on the southward slope of the North Downs to the east of the county town, Maidstone. The parish population is around 900 and has th ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

. He was one of five gentlemen who, on 8 May 1701, delivered the

Kentish Petition The Kentish Petition of 1701 was a petition from leading citizens of the County of Kent, presented to the House of Commons of Parliament of England on 8 May 1701. The petition had been circulated at the Kentish quarter sessions held at Maidstone on ...

to the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was replaced by the House of Commons of ...

. Colepeper was the chairman of the quarter sessions at

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies 32 miles (51 km) east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the c ...

and drew up the petition. It was from the deputy-lieutenants, justices, and grand jurors of

, desiring that the house would turn their loyal addresses into a bill of supply and other matter. The petition was voted insolent and seditious, and they were ordered into the custody of the

serjeant-at-arms A serjeant-at-arms, or sergeant-at-arms, is an officer appointed by a deliberative body, usually a legislature, to keep order during its meetings. The word "serjeant" is derived from the Latin ''serviens'', which means "servant". Historically, s ...

and then sent as prisoners to the

Gatehouse A gatehouse is a type of fortified gateway, an entry control point building, enclosing or accompanying a gateway for a town, religious house, castle, manor house, or other fortification building of importance. Gatehouses are typically the mos ...

, where they remained till the end of the session. After a quarrel with

Sir George Rooke Admiral of the Fleet Sir George Rooke (1650 – 24 January 1709) was an English naval officer. As a junior officer he saw action at the Battle of Solebay and again at the Battle of Schooneveld during the Third Anglo-Dutch War. As a captain, h ...

arising from the petition, Colepeper claimed that an attempt was made upon his life on behalf of Rooke. He had been assaulted at

Windsor Castle Windsor Castle is a royal residence at Windsor in the English county of Berkshire. It is strongly associated with the English and succeeding British royal family, and embodies almost a millennium of architectural history. The original cast ...

in July 1703, by Sir Jacob Banks in particular, on the occasion of Colepeper's delivering a petition for

Daniel Defoe Daniel Defoe (; born Daniel Foe; – 24 April 1731) was an English writer, trader, journalist, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel ''Robinson Crusoe'', published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its ...

, who was imprisoned. Philip Nicholas Furbank, W. R. Owens, ''Defoe De-attributions: a critique of J. R. Moore's Checklist'' (1994), p. 19
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After a trial before Lord-justice

Sir John Holt Sir John Holt (23 December 1642 – 5 March 1710) was an English lawyer who served as Lord Chief Justice of England from 17 April 1689 to his death. He is frequently credited with playing a major role in ending the prosecution of witches in Eng ...

, 14 February 1704, three persons were fined for attempts to do him injury: the friends of Rooke, named Denew, Merriam, and Britton.historyofparliamentonline.org, page on George Rooke
The matter did not rest there since Colepeper then brought a suit against Edward Knatchbull, and in 1706 Rooke himself sued Colepeper for scandal.

Works

He was the author of a ''Heroick Poem upon the King'', 1694, and a ''Poem to the Lady Duty'', and ''Poem to the Rev. John Brandreth'', in ''Miscellaneous Poems and Translations by Several Hands'', published by Richard Savage, son of

Earl Rivers Earl Rivers was an English title, which has been created three times in the Peerage of England. It was held in succession by the families of Woodville (or Wydeville), Darcy and Savage. History The first creation was made for Richard Woodville, 1s ...

, 1726.

Family

By his wife, Elizabeth Gill, he had three sons and three daughters.

References

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Colepeper, William Year of birth missing 1726 deaths People from Hollingbourne 18th-century English politicians 18th-century English poets English politicians English male poets 18th-century English male writers 18th-century English writers