William Aislabie (1700 – 17 May 1781) of Studley Royal, North Yorkshire was an English landowner and

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

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 over 60 years from 1721 to 1781. His long unbroken service in the House of Commons was only surpassed, more than 100 years after his death, by the 63 years achieved by

Charles Pelham Villiers Charles Pelham Villiers (3 January 1802 – 16 January 1898) was a British lawyer and politician from the aristocratic Villiers family. He sat in the House of Commons for 63 years, from 1835 to 1898, making him the longest-serving Member of Parl ...

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

Studley Royal from Morriss County Seats (1880)

Background

Aislabie was the son of

John Aislabie John Aislabie or Aslabie (; 4 December 167018 June 1742), of Studley Royal, near Ripon, Yorkshire, was a British politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1695 to 1721. He was of an independent mind, and did not stick r ...

of Studley Royal, North Yorkshire and his first wife, Anne Rawlinson daughter of Sir William Rawlinson of Hendon. He inherited and landscaped Hack Fall Wood, near Grewelthorpe,

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

Political career

Aislabie's father bought Kirkby Fleetham estate for him in North Yorkshire on reaching his age of majority, c.1722 and he was first elected 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 ...

for

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

on 17 May 1721 In the immediate aftermath of his father's disgrace for his connection with the South Sea Bubble, Aislabie's brother John Aislabie Jr. had previously held the seat. In 1721 William Aislabie actually partnered (in the then two-member seat) his uncle of the same name and for a later part of the time his cousin, also named William Aislabie. He served continuously as the MP for Ripon until his death in 1781, a period of 60 years 47 days, reaching the position of

Father of the House of Commons Father of the House is a title that has been traditionally bestowed, unofficially, on certain members of some legislatures, most notably the House of Commons in the United Kingdom. In some legislatures the title refers to the longest continuously- ...

in 1768. His last recorded speech in the House, on the

Duke of Bridgewater Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

's Canals Bill, was made in 1770, he last voted in 1773, and in 1779, ''The Public Ledger'' journal commented: "His age and infirmities do not allow him to attend." In 1738 Aislabie was also appointed as an

Auditor of the Imprests Auditor of the Imprests was a profitable office of the Exchequer, responsible for auditing the accounts of officers of the English crown to whom money was issued for government expenditure, from 1559 to 1785. Foundation Prior to 1559 this duty was ...

, and from 1749 until his death was registrar of the consistory court of the Diocese of York. On his father's death in 1742 he inherited the Studley estate and in 1768 purchased the adjacent Fountains estate for £16,000. Aislabie then spent large amounts of time and energy developing one of England's finest water gardens on the estate. In 1781, the year of his death, he undertook the restoration of the Ripon Obelisk which had been built by his father to a design by

Nicholas Hawksmoor Nicholas Hawksmoor (probably 1661 – 25 March 1736) was an English architect. He was a leading figure of the English Baroque style of architecture in the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth centuries. Hawksmoor worked alongside the principa ...

. William's renovation added a

weathervane A wind vane, weather vane, or weathercock is an instrument used for showing the direction of the wind. It is typically used as an architectural ornament to the highest point of a building. The word ''vane'' comes from the Old English word , m ...

in the shape of the celebrated Ripon hornblower.

Family

Aislabie married firstly, in about 1722, Lady Elizabeth Cecil (1706–1733), the daughter of the 6th Earl of Exeter, with whom he had two sons and two daughters, and secondly, on 6 September 1745, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Charles Vernon of

Farnham, Surrey Farnham ( /ˈfɑːnəm/) is a market town and civil parish in Surrey, England, around southwest of London. It is in the Borough of Waverley, close to the county border with Hampshire. The town is on the north branch of the River Wey, a tribu ...

, with whom he had one son and one daughter. None of his sons survived him. Studley Royal was left to his daughter Elizabeth, who had married

Charles Allanson Charles Allanson (c. 1720–1775) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1768 to 1775. Allanson was the eldest son of William Allanson of Little Sion, Middlesex. He entered Inner Temple in 1738 and matriculated at Queen’s ...

, his fellow MP. He built the present Kirkby Fleetham Hall on the Kirkby Fleetham estate in the mid-1700s for another daughter, Ann Sophie, who had married William Lawrence.

Sources

Roots web article on Aislabie

Parks and Gardens web site

Burleigh Portrait of William Aislabie of Studley Royal, Jonathan Richardson (1667-1745)
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Notes

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Aislabie, William 1700 births 1781 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784