Sir William Thompson (1678 – 27 October 1739) of Middle Temple, was an English judge and 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 1709 and 1729.

Early life

Thompson was second son of Sir William Thompson (died 1695),

serjeant-at-law A Serjeant-at-Law (SL), commonly known simply as a Serjeant, was a member of an order of barristers at the English and Irish Bar. The position of Serjeant-at-Law (''servientes ad legem''), or Sergeant-Counter, was centuries old; there are writ ...

, and his wife, Mary Stephens of

Bermondsey Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...

. He was educated at Brentwood Grammar School (Essex) and admitted at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by Henry VIII, King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any college at either Cambridge ...

on 25 April 1691, aged 14. He was awarded BA in 1695. In 1688, he was admitted a student at the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

, where he was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1698. He married by licence dated 16 July 1701, Mrs Joyce Brent, a widow of St Clement Danes, Middlesex. He married, as his second wife, on 7 November 1710, Julia Blackett, widow of Sir William Blacket, Bt, of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and the daughter of Sir Christopher Conyers, Bt, of Horden, Durham.

Career

Thompson stood for

Orford, Suffolk Orford is a village with historic town status in Suffolk, England, within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths AONB. It is located east of Woodbridge. History Like many Suffolk coastal towns it was of some importance as a port and fishing village in th ...

at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs finally gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November ...

on the recommendation of

Sir Thomas Felton, 4th Baronet Sir Thomas Felton, 4th Baronet (12 October 1649 – 3 March 1709), of Whitehall, Westminster and Playford, Suffolk, was an English courtier and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1690 and 1709 . Felton was the son of Sir ...

and though defeated in the poll with only three votes, was seated on petition 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 Orford on 29 January 1709. He voted for the naturalization of the Palatines, and was probably a teller on 7 March 1709 against a Tory amendment to the bill to prevent naturalized persons from standing or voting at parliamentary elections. He was put forward to sit on the committee to draw up the articles of impeachment against Dr Sacheverell on 14 December 1709, spoke on 11 January 1710 against the recommittal of the articles, and voted for the impeachment. He was involved in the prosecution of Sacheverell's riotous supporters, Daniel Dammaree, Francis Willis, and George Purchase over the period March to April 1710. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

he stood at

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

but was unsuccessful. At the 1713 general election, he was returned as MP for Ipswich but was unseated by petition on 1 April 1714. Thompson regained the seat in the 1715 general election, and retained it until his elevation to the exchequer bench in November 1729. On 3 March 1715 Thompson was elected

Recorder of London The Recorder of London is an ancient legal office in the City of London. The Recorder of London is the senior circuit judge at the Central Criminal Court (the Old Bailey), hearing trials of criminal offences. The Recorder is appointed by the Cr ...

, and was knighted on 18 July 1715. He took part in the impeachment of the Jacobite George Seton, 5th Earl of Wintoun, 15–19 March 1716, Appointed for the solicitor-generalship, 24 January 1717, he was dismissed from that office, 17 March 1720, for bringing an unfounded charge of corrupt practices against attorney-general Nicholas Lechmere. Retaining the recordership, he was accorded in 1724 precedence in all courts after the solicitor-general. On 23 May 1726 he was appointed cursitor baron, and on 27 November 1729 he succeeded

Sir Bernard Hale Sir Bernard Hale (1677–1729) was an English-born barrister and judge who became Chief Baron of the Irish Exchequer. Two of his sons became Generals in the British Army.Ball, F. Elrington ''The Judges in Ireland 1221–1921'' London John Murray 1 ...

as puisne

Baron of the Exchequer The Barons of the Exchequer, or ''barones scaccarii'', were the judges of the English court known as the Exchequer of Pleas. The Barons consisted of a Chief Baron of the Exchequer and several puisne (''inferior'') barons. When Robert Shute was a ...

, having first been called to the degree of serjeant-at-law (17 November) This office with the recordership he retained until his death at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

, 27 October 1739. He bought the manor of Hensington from the executors of Thomas Napier in 1726. His devisees sold it in 1753 to

Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough Charles Spencer, 3rd Duke of Marlborough, (22 November 170620 October 1758), styled as The Honourable Charles Spencer between 1706 and 1729 and as The Earl of Sunderland between 1729 and 1733, was a British soldier, nobleman, and politician fr ...

. In 1717 William Thomson introduced an act into the House of Commons that eventually became law in 1718 (4 Geo I, c.11). Known as the

Transportation Act 1717 The Piracy Act 1717 (4 Geo 1 c 11), sometimes called the Transportation Act 1717 (1718 in New Style), was an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain that established a regulated, bonded system to transport criminals to colonies in North Ameri ...

(a.k.a. Piracy Act), the Transportation Act formalized the process for transporting British criminals (except Scottish) to the American colonies. Seen as a way to reduce crime in Britain felons who committed clergyable offenses could be transported for 7 years and receivers of stolen goods could be transported for 14 years. This act of Thomson's resulted in tens of thousands of convicts being transported to the American colonies (including Canada and the West Indies) and later to Australia between 1718 and the end of transportation in 1867.

Family

Thompson died on 27 October 1739. He had no children by either wife.

References

Sources

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Thompson, William 1678 births 1739 deaths Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Middle Temple Members of Lincoln's Inn Serjeants-at-law (England) Solicitors General for England and Wales Barons of the Exchequer Knights Bachelor Politics of Suffolk Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Ipswich British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734