Sir William Corbet, 5th Baronet (1702–1748), of Stoke, Shropshire was a British merchant and 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 ...

from 1728 to 1748. Corbet was the eldest son of Sir Robert Corbet, 4th Baronet and his wife Jane Hooker, daughter of William Hooker. He married Harriot Pitt, daughter of

Robert Pitt Robert Pitt (1680 – 21 May 1727) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1705 to 1727. He was the father and grandfather of two prime ministers, William Pitt the elder and William Pitt the younger. Early life Pitt was th ...

and

Harriet Villiers Lady Harriet Pitt (née Villiers; 1680 – 21 October 1736) was an Anglo-Irish noblewoman who was the mother and grandmother of two British prime ministers, William Pitt the elder and William Pitt the younger. Family Villiers was born into Anglo ...

of Boconnoc, Cornwall and elder sister of

William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham (15 November 170811 May 1778) was a British people, British British Whig Party, Whig politician, statesman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 1766 to 1768. Historians call him "Chatham" or "Pit ...

. Corbet stood unsuccessfully for Parliament at

Newcastle-under-Lyme Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town and the administrative centre of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme in Staffordshire, England. It is adjacent to the city of Stoke-on-Trent. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the population ...

at a by-election in November 1724. He was man with some financial ability and in 1726 he was an Assistant in the

Royal African Company The Royal African Company (RAC) was an English trading company established in 1660 by the House of Stuart and City of London merchants to trade along the West African coast. It was overseen by the Duke of York, the brother of Charles II of Eng ...

. He joined interest with Henry Herbert, who supported him at Montgomery Boroughs at the 1727 general election. There was a double return in the poll and Corbet was not seated as Member of Parliament until 16 April 1728. He was on the board of the Royal African Company again from 1728 to 1731 and was one of three MPs who guided a petition relating to the Company's forts through Parliament in 1729 and 1730, in the face of opposition from the free traders to Africa. He was returned unopposed as MP for Montgomery Boroughs at the 1734 general election. He voted consistently with the Government and his only reported speech was in 1739 against the repeal of the Test Act. His father died on 3 October 1740 and he succeeded to the

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

. In 1741 he was appointed to the post of Commissioner of Revenue for Ireland which was worth £1,000 p.a. He transferred to

Ludlow Ludlow ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Shropshire (district), Shropshire, England. It is located south of Shrewsbury and north of Hereford, on the A49 road (Great Britain), A49 road which bypasses the town. The town is near the conf ...

, another seat of Lord Powis, at the 1741 general election and was returned unopposed. He gave up his post as Commissioner of Revenue for Ireland in 1747, as under the

Place Act 1742 House of Commons (Disqualification) Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used in the United Kingdom for legislation relating those ineligible to serve as members of the House of Commons. List *The House of Commons (Disqualification) A ...

, holding it was incompatible with a seat in Parliament, and he was returned unopposed at the

1747 general election Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II Co ...

. In 1748 he was appointed to a life sinecure of

Clerk of the Pipe The Clerk of the Pipe was a post in the Pipe Office of the English Exchequer and its successors. The incumbent was responsible for the pipe rolls on which the government income and expenditure was recorded as credits and debits. The ''Dialogus de ...

worth about £500 p.a. Corbet died without issue on 15 Sept 1748 of a dropsy.

References

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Corbet, Sir William, 5th Baronet 1702 births 1748 deaths British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Baronets in the Baronetage of England