William Hussey (c.1724 – 26 January 1813) was an English businessman and 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. T ...

for 48 years from 1765 to 1813.

Early life

Hussey was baptised on 1 January 1725, the son of John Hussey, Mayor of Salisbury in 1737. On his father's death in 1739 he inherited property in Wiltshire and Dorset and became a successful clothier in Salisbury. He married firstly Mary Eyre, the daughter of John Eyre of Landford Lodge, Wiltshire, on 9 October 1752. She died on 21 May 1754. In 1755 he was elected a councillor for the city of Salisbury, becoming an alderman in 1756 and

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in 1759. He married secondly Jane Marsh, daughter of Robert Marsh, a London merchant and

Governor of the Bank of England The governor of the Bank of England is the most senior position in the Bank of England. It is nominally a civil service post, but the appointment tends to be from within the bank, with the incumbent grooming their successor. The governor of the Ba ...

on 5 April 1758.

Political career

Hussey 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 o ...

(MP) for St Germans at a by-election on 11 June 1765. At the 1768 general election he was returned as MP for Hindon. He was elected for

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

in the 1774 general election and held the seat to his death. In 1784 he was a member of the St. Alban's Tavern group which tried to bring Fox and Pitt together. Hussey died on 26 January 1813. He had a daughter by his first wife Mary. By his second wife Jane, he had a son and a daughter Mary who married William Drake (junior), MP. In his will he divided most of his property between his great-nephews Ambrose Hussey of Salisbury and John Hussey (1789-1849) of Salisbury and Lyme Regis.

References

1725 births 1813 deaths Mayors of Salisbury Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 {{England-UK-MP-stub