Sir William Pole, 4th Baronet (1678 – 31 December 1741), of

Colcombe Castle Colcombe Castle was a castle or fortified house situated about a north of the town of Colyton, Devon, Colyton in East Devon, England. It was a seat of the House of Courtenay, Courtenay family, Earl of Devon, Earls of Devon, whose prin ...

, near Colyton and Shute, near

Honiton Honiton () is a market town and civil parish in East Devon, situated close to the River Otter, Devon, River Otter, north east of Exeter in the county of Devon. Honiton has a population estimated at 12,154 (based on 2021 census). History The ...

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

was an English landowner and Tory politician who sat in the English and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

between 1701 and 1734.

Biography

Pole was the eldest son of Sir John Pole, 3rd Baronet, MP and Anne Morice, the daughter of Sir William Morice, MP. He matriculated at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

on 7 July 1696, aged 18. He succeeded his father in 1708. Pole was returned unopposed as a Tory Member of Parliament (MP) for Newport on the Morice interest at the second general election of 1701. He supported, on 26 Feb. 1702, the motion vindicating the Commons’ proceedings in impeaching the Whig ministers. He was returned as MP for

Camelford Camelford () is a town and civil parish in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom, situated in the River Camel valley northwest of Bodmin Moor. The town is approximately north of Bodmin and is governed by Camelford Town Council. The ward pop ...

at a by-election on 17 January 1704 and became a very active member, frequently acting as a teller for the Tories. He voted for the Tack in 1704. At the

1705 English general election The 1705 English general election saw contests in 110 United Kingdom constituencies, constituencies in England and Wales, roughly 41% of the total. The election was fiercely fought, with mob violence and cries of "Church in Danger" occurring in ...

, he retained his seat at Camelford and voted against the Court candidate for the Speaker on 25 October 1705. At the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

he was returned unopposed again for Newport on the Morice interest. He was less active in the parliament and became a founder-member of the High Tory ‘Board of Brothers’. He voted against the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

he was returned as MP for

. He was appointed

Master of the Household The Master of the Household is the operational head (see Chief operating officer) of the "below stairs" elements of the Royal Households of the United Kingdom. The role has charge of the domestic staff, from the Royal Kitchens, the pages and footm ...

in 1712 but lost the resulting by-election on 22 July 1712. He was returned unopposed for

Bossiney Bossiney (, meaning ''Kyni's dwelling'') is a village in north Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It is north-east of the larger village of Tintagel which it adjoins: further north-east are the Rocky Valley and Trethevy. Until 1832 the village, ...

at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

. On the accession of George I in 1714 he lost his post in the Household. Pole was elected MP for

at a by-election on 17 March 1716 and was returned again in a contest at the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

when he was also returned for Newport. He was defeated at Honiton at the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

but was seated on petition on 15 March 1731. He did not stand in 1734. He voted constitently against the administration. Pole married Elizabeth Warry, the daughter of Robert Warry of Shute, Devon, 'many years' before he made his will in 1733 in which he recommended and requested that his son never stand for Parliament. He died from ‘gout in his stomach’ on 31 December 1741. He was succeeded by his son, John, and also had a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pole, William, 4th Baronet 1678 births 1741 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Devon English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Masters of the Household 4 Tory MPs (pre-1834) Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Honiton

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

Members of the Parliament of England for Newport (Cornwall) Members of the Parliament of England for Camelford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Camelford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Newport (Cornwall) Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bossiney