Sir William Wake, 8th Baronet (1742–1785), was a British 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 1774 to 1784. Wake was the son of Sir William Wake, 7th Baronet of

Courteenhall Courteenhall is a village south of the county town of Northampton, in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, and about north of London. The population of the civil parish was 122 at the 2011 census. The village is located in a cul ...

and his wife Sarah Walker of Weston, Yorkshire. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in 1755 and admitted at

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

on 2 February 1760. On 6 March 1764, he was admitted at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. He married Mary Fenton, daughter of Richard Fenton of Banktop, Yorkshire on 6 June 1765 and succeeded his father in 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 ...

on 25 September 1765. He was

High Sheriff of Northamptonshire This is a list of the High Sheriffs of Northamptonshire. The High Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the respon ...

in 1771–2. In the 1774 general election Wake was elected as Member of Parliament for

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population was 106,940. Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire and seat of the Borough of Bedford local government district. Bedford was founded at a ford (crossin ...

. He is reported as making only three speeches in that Parliament. He was re-elected for Bedford 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 all ...

. He was described as "a very independent Member" with "a small mixture of tenaciousness, or perhaps obstinacy, in his disposition". He decided not to stand again in 1784 but was active in the election at Bedford. Wake died on 29 October 1785. He was succeeded by his son William, who was married to Mary Sitwell,1771-1791, elder sister of Sir Sitwell Sitwell, 1st Baronet. They married in 1790 and had one son, Charles, but Mary died in childbirth. In April 1793 he married Maria Jane Gambier, daughter of James Gambier, Admiral of the Red Squadron. They had 11 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wake, Sir William, 8th Baronet 1742 births 1785 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 High sheriffs of Northamptonshire 8

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 ...