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William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry (c.1676 – 18 March 1751), of London and later
Croome Court Croome Court is a mid-18th-century Neo-Palladian mansion surrounded by extensive landscaped parkland at Croome D'Abitot, near Upton-upon-Severn in south Worcestershire, England. The mansion and park were designed by Lancelot "Capability" Brown ...
, Worcestershire, was a British 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 ...
from 1708 to 1719.


Early life

Coventry was the son of Walter Coventry and his wife Anne (née Holcombe), daughter of Humphrey Holcombe, merchant, of St. Andrew's Holborn. He succeeded his father in 1692. He was admitted at
Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 students and fellows. It is one of the university's larger colleges, with buildings from ...
on 13 April 1693, aged 16. His grandfather Walter Coventry was the youngest brother of
Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry (157814 January 1640) was a prominent English lawyer, politician and judge during the early 17th century. Education and early legal career He entered Balliol College, Oxford, in 1592, and the Inner Temple in ...
.


Career

Coventry was returned unopposed as Whig Member of Parliament for
Bridport Bridport is a market town and civil parish in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the River Asker, Asker. Its origins are Anglo-Saxons, Saxon and it has a long history as a ...
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 voted for naturalizing the Palatines in 1709 and for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. 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 again returned unopposed. He voted for the amendment to the South Sea bill on 25 May 1711 and for the motion for ‘
No Peace Without Spain No Peace Without Spain was a popular British political slogan of the early eighteenth century. It referred to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701–1714) in which Britain was a leading participant. It implied that no peace treaty cou ...
’ on 7 December. He also voted against the French commerce bill on 18 June 13. 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 ...
he was returned again unopposed for Bridport. He voted against the expulsion of Richard Steele on 18 March 1713. Coventry was returned again as MP for Bridport at the
1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...
. He voted for the Administration in all recorded divisions. Early in the parliament, he applied for the office of clerk of the Parliaments, but Sir Robert Walpole kept upping the price to him until he angrily refused. He was appointed Keeper, the bailiwick of Frisham, New Forest by 1717 and was appointed Joint
Clerk Comptroller of the Board of Green Cloth The Clerk of the Green Cloth was a position in the British Royal Household. The clerk acted as secretary of the Board of Green Cloth, and was therefore responsible for organising royal journeys and assisting in the administration of the Royal H ...
in 1717. His only known speech was in December 1717, when he supported a motion to maintain. In 1719, he accompanied the King to Hanover. On 27 October 1719, he unexpectedly succeeded Gilbert Coventry, his second cousin once removed, as fifth
Earl of Coventry Earl of Coventry is a title that has been created twice in the Peerage of England. The first creation for the Villiers family was created in 1623 and took its name from the city of Coventry. It became extinct in 1687. A decade later, the second ...
, the fourth Earl having died at the age of 51 without a male heir,despite there being many nephews and closer male relations of the 4th Earl, including a presumed daughter from his marriage who was not legitimised until after both her parents deaths, the special remainder or the seat of Earl Coventry, meant that Coventry would inherit as 5th Earl. Accordingly, Coventry vacated his seat 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 ...
and entered the
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
where he became a 'malcontent', and signed many protests. He was appointed to the Privy Council on 22 March 1720 and was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire in the same year. In 1724 he was successfully sued by Anne Coventry, the widow of the fourth earl, for her inheritance.Matthew Kilburn, 'Coventry, Anne, countess of Coventry (1691–1788)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Jan 200
accessed 28 Nov 2014
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Later life and legacy

Lord Coventry married Elizabeth Allen, daughter of John Allen of Westminster, in 1720. He became High Steward of Bridport in 1727. Lady Coventry died in 1738. He survived her by thirteen years and died in March 1751. He had three sons and as his eldest son Thomas Henry Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst, predeceased him he was succeeded by his second son
George George may refer to: Names * George (given name) * George (surname) People * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Papagheorghe, also known as Jorge / GEØRGE * George, stage name of Gior ...
, who extensively redeveloped Croome Court. His third son was John Bulkeley Coventry, who succeeded George as MP for
Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...
. His daughter married George Richards who was Member of Parliament for
Bridport Bridport is a market town and civil parish in Dorset, England, inland from the English Channel near the confluence of the River Brit and its tributary the River Asker, Asker. Its origins are Anglo-Saxons, Saxon and it has a long history as a ...
from 1741 to 1746.


References

*Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). ''Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage'' (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Coventry, William Coventry, 5th Earl of 1670s births 1751 deaths Lord-lieutenants of Worcestershire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Bridport British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 Members of the Privy Council of Great Britain Earls of Coventry