William Drake ( – 18 May 1795) 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 ...

between 1768 and 1795.

Early life

Drake was the son of William Drake of

Shardeloes Shardeloes is a large 18th-century country house located one mile west of Amersham in Buckinghamshire, England (). A previous manor house on the site was demolished and the present building constructed between 1758 and 1766 for William Drake, th ...

, a son of Montague Garrard Drake, MP, and Elizabeth Raworth, a daughter of John Raworth of Basinghall St., London. He was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

from 1759 to 1764 and matriculated at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The l ...

on 20 June 1765, aged 17. He then undertook the Grand Tour.

Career

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Re ...

he was returned as Member of Parliament for

Amersham Amersham ( ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, in the Chiltern Hills, northwest of central London, south-east of Aylesbury and north-east of High Wycombe. Amersham is part of the London commuter belt. There ar ...

. He was re-elected in 1774, 1780 1784 and 1790 and shared the seat with his father all that time. He was a member of the

St. Alban's Tavern group The St. Alban's Tavern group was an informal association of 78 United Kingdom, British Member of Parliament, Members of Parliament who aimed to bring about a reconciliation of William Pitt the Younger and Charles James Fox in a unified Ministry. The ...

which tried to bring about a union between

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

and Pitt. He was a prolific speaker with a powerful voice. It was said "He talked sense, and his speeches were ornate: he was fond of a Latin quotation".

Personal life

Drake married firstly Mary Hussey on 17 February 1778 who died six months later on 23 October 1778. After her death, he married Rachel Elizabeth Ives (1761–1784), a daughter of Jeremiah Ives of Norwich on 20 August 1781. Before her death on 4 August 1784, they were the parents of: * Rachel Ives Drake (1783–1830), who married George Irby, 3rd Baron Boston, son of Frederick Irby, 2nd Baron Boston and Christian Methuen (a daughter of Paul Methuen of

Corsham Court Corsham Court is an English country house in a park designed by Capability Brown. It is in the town of Corsham, 3 miles (5 km) west of Chippenham, Wiltshire, and is notable for its fine art collection, based on the nucleus of painting ...

, MP for Westbury,

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon, Warwickshire, River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined wit ...

, and

Great Bedwyn Great Bedwyn is a village and civil parish in east Wiltshire, England. The village is on the River Dun about southwest of Hungerford, southeast of Swindon and southeast of Marlborough. The Kennet and Avon Canal and the Reading to Taunt ...

), in 1801. * Emily Ives Drake (1784–1806), who married Rear-Admiral Hon. Frederick Paul Irby, son of Frederick Irby, 2nd Baron Boston and Christian Methuen, in 1803.Mosley, Charles, editor. ''Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, 107th edition, 3 volumes.''

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington is the List of municipalities in Delaware, most populous city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish colonization of the Americas, Swedish settlement in North America. It lie ...

: Burke's Peerage (Genealogical Books) Ltd, 2003, volume 1, page 445. After her death, he married Frances Wright, daughter of Ichabod Wright, in 1816.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

, U.K.:

Alan Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2000), volume II, page 228. Drake predeceased his father on 18 May 1795 leaving an immense property partly acquired by marriage, and partly by some collateral branches. It was said that had he lived to inherit that of his father, he would have been one of the richest men in the country. Drake's daughters, Rachel and Emily, upon their marriages, each inherited one half of their maternal grandfather Jeremiah Ives's property, the Manors of Boyland (including Boyland Hall} and Fritton, as well as Drake's property in Boyland, Fritton,

Hempnall Hempnall is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. Hempnall is located north of Harleston and south of Norwich. History Hempnall's name is of Anglo-Saxon origin and derives from the Old English for ''Hemma's'' nook ...

, Morningthorpe, Stratton St. Mary and

St. Michael Michael, also called Saint Michael the Archangel, Archangel Michael and Saint Michael the Taxiarch is an archangel and the warrior of God in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. The earliest surviving mentions of his name are in third- and second- ...

, Long Stratton and Tasburgh; Drake's

messuage In law, conveyancing is the transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another, or the granting of an encumbrance such as a mortgage or a lien. A typical conveyancing transaction has two major phases: the exchange of contracts ...

in Flixton and land in Flixton and

Gunton, Suffolk Gunton is a suburb of Lowestoft, in the East Suffolk district, in the English county of Suffolk. Gunton was a small coastal village, but over the years it has been suburbanised. Gunton has an estimated population of 6,640. The main A12 or Yar ...

; Drake's house 'The White House' and land in Blundeston; Drake's messuage and land in

Corton, Suffolk Corton is a village and civil parish in the north of the English county of Suffolk. It is north of the centre of Lowestoft in the East Suffolk district. The village is on the North Sea coast with the county border with Norfolk to the north. ...

; Drake's messuage in

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

, formerly part of the George Inn; property in Amersham,

Chesham Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...

and Woburn, including

Chartridge Chartridge is a village in Buckinghamshire, England situated two miles north-west of Chesham. Chartridge is also the name of a civil parish in Chiltern District which also includes the village of Bellingdon and the hamlets of Pednor, Hundri ...

Farm in Chesham and Woburn; property formerly of Jeremiah Ives as described in 1781 Drake-Ives settlement.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drake, William (1747-1795) 1740s births 1795 deaths People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies