Sir Hedworth Williamson, 7th Baronet (1 November 1797 – 24 April 1861) was an English Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

in two periods between 1831 and 1852. He was educated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

. Williamson was the son of Sir Hedworth Williamson, 6th Baronet. He inherited the baronetcy from his father in 1810.

Career

Williamson was elected Member of Parliament (MP) for

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

at the 1831 general election and held the seat until 1832 when it was divided under the

Great Reform Act The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the Reform Act 1832, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. 4. c. 45), enacted by the Whig government of Pri ...

. He was then elected at the 1832 general election as an MP for North Durham, and held the seat until he stood down at the 1837 general election. He was High Sheriff of Durham in 1840. In December 1847 he was elected at a by-election as MP for

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

Craig, page 295 and held the seat until he stood down at the 1852 general election.

Masonic career

Sir Hedworth was a prominent Freemason. He was initiated into the Lambton Lodge No 375, Chester-Le-Street, County Durham, England, 9 December 1824. He joined Palatine Lodge No 97, Sunderland, on 18 December 1834 and was the Worshipful Master on three occasions, 1835, 1836 and 1840 and subsequently appointed Grand Warden of the

United Grand Lodge of England The United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE) is the governing Masonic lodge for the majority of freemasons in England, Wales, and the Commonwealth of Nations. Claiming descent from the Masonic Grand Lodge formed 24 June 1717 at the Goose & Gridiron ...

. In 1840 he was installed as the Provincial Grand Master of Durham and held that position until 1845. Sir Hedworth Williamson had four sons Hedworth, 25 March 1827 – 1874, William Henry, born 14 October 1829, Charles 1 September 1833 and Victor Alexander, born 28 June 1828, all of which were members of Palatine Lodge No 97.

Marriage and family

Williamson married Anne Elizabeth Liddell (1801–1878), daughter of the first

Baron Ravensworth Baron Ravensworth, of Ravensworth Castle (Tyne and Wear), Ravensworth Castle in the County Palatine of Durham and of Eslington Park in the County of Northumberland, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1821 for Tho ...

. Their son Hedworth succeeded to the baronetcy. Their daughter Maria Dorothea married David Barclay who was also an MP for Sunderland.

References

External links

* 1797 births 1861 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of England Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1847–1852 High sheriffs of Durham {{England-baronet-stub