Robert Williams (11 February 1767 – 10 March 1847) was an English banker and politician. He purchased the Bridehead estate near

Dorchester, Dorset Dorchester ( ) is the county town of Dorset, England. It is situated between Poole and Bridport on the A35 trunk route. A historic market town, Dorchester is on the banks of the River Frome, Dorset, River Frome to the south of the Dorset Dow ...

, around 1797. It comprised the manor of

Littlebredy Littlebredy (also written Little Bredy, pronounced ) is a small village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Dorset, situated approximately west of the county town Dorchester, Dorset, Dorchester. It is sited at ...

, Bridehead being a name fabricated by Williams, and in later years became the main family residence. He was elected an alderman (1796–1801) and

sheriff of London Two Sheriffs of the City of London are elected annually by the members of the City livery companies. Today's Sheriffs have only ceremonial duties, but the historical officeholders held important judicial responsibilities. They have attended the ...

for 1797–8. He was prime warden of the Goldsmiths’ Company in 1810–11, director of the Hope Assurance Company in 1820 and chairman of the company from 1826 to 1841. During the time of the French Revolutionary and

Napoleonic Wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

, he served as an officer in the Cornhill Volunteers, from Captain in 1797, to Lieutenant Colonel commandant in 1799, and later served in the London and Westminster Light Horse from 1803 to 1807. Williams was the Member of Parliament (MP) for

Wootton Bassett Royal Wootton Bassett , formerly Wootton Bassett, is a market town and civil parish in Wiltshire, England, with a population of 13,570 at the 2021 Census. In the north of the county, it lies to the west of the town of Swindon and northeast of ...

from 1802 to 1807. On 17 March 1808 he was elected MP for

Grampound Grampound () is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Grampound with Creed, in the Cornwall (district), Cornwall district, in the ceremonial county of Cornwall, England. It is at an ancient crossing point of the River Fal and ...

after the previous election had been declared void on 7 March 1808. However he and

John Teed John Teed (c. 1770 – before 1837) was an English merchant, banker, and politician. Born to a family from Devon, by around 1804 Teed was established as a ship agent, banker, and merchant in Plymouth. In 1806 he unsuccessfully sought election to ...

were unseated on

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

on 10 May 1808 in favour of George Augustus Frederick Cochrane the previous member and

William Holmes William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...

. Williams was then elected MP for Kilkenny City from 1809 to 1812, and for Dorchester from 1812 to 1835 He married Frances Turner of Putney. His eldest son was politician

Robert Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Architecture * Train %26 Williams#Robert Edmund Williams, Robert Edmund Williams (1874–1960), Canadian-American architect * Robert Williams (architect) (1848–1918), Welsh architect a ...

(1811–1890).

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* 1767 births 1847 deaths English bankers English accountants UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs 1831–1832 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for County Kilkenny constituencies (1801–1922) Sheriffs of the City of London Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Grampound Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Wootton Bassett Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Dorchester {{England-UK-MP-stub