Sir William Meredith, 3rd Baronet (c. 1725 – 2 January 1790), was a British landowner 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. ...

from 1754 to 1780. A

Rockingham Whig The Rockingham Whigs (or Rockinghamites) in 18th century British politics were a faction of the Whigs led by Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, from about 1762 until his death in 1782. The Rockingham Whigs briefly held power fr ...

, he served as a

Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

from 1765 to 1766. Henbury, by Kip

Early life

Meredith was the son of Amos Meredith (1688–1745) of Chester and Johanna Cholmondely, daughter of Thomas Cholmondely of Vale Royal, Chester. He matriculated at Christ Church, Oxford, on 24 March 1743, aged 18. His father died in 1744, and in 1752, he inherited his baronetcy and estates on the death of his grandfather,

Sir William Meredith, 2nd Baronet There have been three baronetcies created for persons with the surname Meredith, one in the Baronetage of England, one in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and one in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom. Two of the creations are extinct while one is ...

Political career

At the

1754 general election Events January–March * January 28 – Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word ''serendipity''. * February 22 – Expecting an attack by Portuguese-speaking militias in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Pla ...

, Meredith was returned unopposed as one of the two

Members 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 oft ...

for

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas, Lancashire, River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the nor ...

. By the time of the

1761 general election The 1761 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 12th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. This was the first ...

, the opposition at Wigan had consolidated against him and he stood instead for

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

, where he was returned after a contest. As one of the Rockingham Whigs, he served as a

from 1765 to 1766. He was returned unopposed for Liverpool at the

1768 general election The 1768 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 13th Parliament of Great Britain to be held, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election took plac ...

. In 1774, he was sworn of the Privy Council and appointed

Comptroller of the Household The Comptroller of the Household is an ancient position in the British royal household, nominally the second-ranking member of the Lord Steward's department after the Treasurer of the Household. The Comptroller was an ''ex officio'' member of t ...

, and at the subsequent 1774 general election was again returned unopposed. Meredith was an extravagant man, and in 1779 was obliged to sell the family estate at Henbury, Cheshire, to John Bower Jodrell for £24,000. He did not stand in

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to allo ...

because of ill-health. In

1784 Events January–March * January 6 – Treaty of Constantinople: The Ottoman Empire agrees to Russia's annexation of the Crimea. * January 14 – The Congress of the United States ratifies the Treaty of Paris with Great Bri ...

he stood again at Liverpool but withdrew before the end of the poll.

Later life and legacy

Meredith died unmarried in Lyons, France, on 2 January 1790. His only brother Theophilus had died in 1775 leaving a daughter, and so the baronetcy became extinct. Of his sisters, *Elizabeth married William Bankes of Winstanley Hall, whose son William was

High Sheriff of Lancashire The High Sheriff of Lancashire is an ancient officer, now largely ceremonial, granted to Lancashire, a county in North West England. High Shrievalties are the oldest secular titles under the Crown, in England and Wales. The High Sheriff of Lancas ...

; *Henrietta married Hon.

Frederick Vane Frederick Vane (26 June 1732 – 28 April 1801) was a British politician, the second son of Henry Vane, 1st Earl of Darlington. He sat on the family interest for County Durham from 1761 to 1774, and took an active part in debates over the British ...

(brother of

Henry Vane, 2nd Earl of Darlington Henry Vane, 2nd Earl of Darlington (1726 – 8 September 1792) was a British peer. Life He was the son of the 1st Earl of Darlington and educated at Christ Church, Oxford, graduating with a MA on 3 July 1749. He joined the Army as an E ...

); *Anne married

Barlow Trecothick Barlow Trecothick ( – 28 May 1775) was a City of London merchant brought up in the colonial Province of Massachusetts Bay who became one of the Members of Parliament for the City of London and was Lord Mayor of London in 1770. Early life Trec ...

, on 9 June 1770, while he was

Lord Mayor of London The Lord Mayor of London is the mayor of the City of London and the leader of the City of London Corporation. Within the City, the Lord Mayor is accorded precedence over all individuals except the sovereign and retains various traditional pow ...

;Lewis Namier, John Brooke, "TRECOTHICK, Barlow" in ''The House of Commons 1754-1790'', p. 557. *Anna-Margaretta was the third wife of

Assheton Curzon, 1st Viscount Curzon Assheton Curzon, 1st Viscount Curzon (2 February 1730 – 21 March 1820), styled Lord Curzon between 1794 and 1802, was a British Tory politician. Background and education Curzon was the second son of Sir Nathaniel Curzon, 4th Baronet of Kedle ...

; *

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also call ...

married firstly

Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers Laurence Shirley, 4th Earl Ferrers (18 August 1720 – 5 May 1760) was an English nobleman, notable for being the last peer to be hanged, following his conviction for murdering his steward. Biography Shirley was the eldest son of Laurence ...

, and secondly

Lord Frederick Campbell Lord Frederick Campbell (20 June 1729 – 8 June 1816) was a Scottish nobleman and politician. He was lord clerk register of Scotland, 1768–1816; Member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow Burghs (1761–1780) and for Argyllshire (1780–1799). Bi ...

. The town of

Meredith, New Hampshire Meredith is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 6,662 at the 2020 census. Meredith is situated in the state's Lakes Region and serves as a major resort town. Meredith Village, the commercial center of the ...

, is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Meredith, William, 3rd Baronet 1720s births 1790 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Liverpool Tory MPs (pre-1834) British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 Lords of the Admiralty Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Politics of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan