William Piers (20 May 1686 – 1755) of

West Bradley West Bradley is a village and civil parish 4 miles south-east of Glastonbury in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. The parish includes the hamlets of Hornblotton and Lottisham. Hornblotton Green is a traditional English community with a ...

, Somerset was a British Whig 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. ...

between 1716 and 1741.

Early life

Prers was the eldest son of William Piers of Wells and his wife Catherine Coward, daughter of William Coward, recorder of Wells.

Career

Piers was one of the leading Whigs at Wells and he stood for

Wells Wells most commonly refers to: * Wells, Somerset, a cathedral city in Somerset, England * Well, an excavation or structure created in the ground * Wells (name) Wells may also refer to: Places Canada *Wells, British Columbia England * Wells ...

several times, but was only returned three times on petition after being defeated at the poll four times. Following the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the 1707 merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. In October 1714, soon afte ...

, he was returned 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 ...

for Wells on petition on 30 May 1716. He was defeated at the 1722 British general election. He was defeated again at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

but was this time seated on petition on 18 April 1729. At the 1734 British general election when he had the active support of Walpole, he was defeated at the poll, but returned on petition on 25 March 1735. He did not stand in

1741 Events January–March * January 13 – Lanesborough, Massachusetts is created as a township. * February 13 – Sir Robert Walpole, the Prime Minister of Great Britain, popularizes the term "the balance of power" in a spe ...

. He stood at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Henr ...

but withdrew his petition after presenting it. He voted consistently with the Government. Piers completed building work at Bradley House in 1726 and included ornamental canals in the grounds.

Personal life

Piers married Elizabeth Ekins, daughter of Harvey Ekins of Weston Favell, Northamptonshire by marriage settlement of 29 December 1708. Together, they were the parents of one son and two daughters, including: * Elizabeth Piers (d. 1782), who married Capt. Lord Montagu Bertie (d. 1753), a son of

Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven PC (20 October 1660 – 26 July 1723), ''styled'' 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby between 1666 and 1701, and known as 4th Earl of Lindsey between 1701 and 1706, and as 1st Marquess of Lindsey ...

and, his second wife, Albinia Farington. He died in 1755.

Descendants

Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was a grandfather of Augusta Bertie, who married

John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland (5 May 1728 – 25 April 1774), known as Lord Burghersh until 1771, was an English peer and Member of Parliament. He was the eldest son of Thomas Fane, 8th Earl of Westmorland of Wormsley Park, Buckinghamshi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piers, William 1686 births 1755 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741