William Evans (17 January 1788 – 8 April 1856) was a 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 ...

in three periods between 1818 and 1852. Evans was the son of William Evans of Darley and Elizabeth Strutt who was the daughter of

Jedediah Strutt Jedediah Strutt (1726 – 7 May 1797) or Jedidiah Strutt – as he spelled it – was a hosier and cotton spinner from Belper, England. Strutt and his brother-in-law William Woollat developed an attachment to the stocking frame that allowed ...

Belper Belper () is a town and civil parish in the local government district of Amber Valley in Derbyshire, England, located about north of Derby on the River Derwent. Along with Belper, the parish includes the village of Milford and the hamlets ...

. The Evans family had made a fortune from lead mines at Bonsall, and an iron slitting and rolling mill in

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

and a cotton mill at

Darley Abbey Darley Abbey is a former historic mill village, now a suburb of the city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire, England. It is located approximately north of the city centre, on the west bank of the River Derwent, and forms part ...

. They also owned the Evans Bank in Derby. Allestree Hall

Evans was Member of Parliament (MP) for

East Retford East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sunrise, Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact ...

from 1818 to 1820, and in 1826 unsuccessfully contested

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

at a cost of between £20,000 and £30,000. In 1830 a compromise was reached and Evans was returned for Leicester without a poll, the same happening in 1831 when Evans was a reformist. Evans was re-elected in the 1832 Reformed parliament, but lost his seat in 1835. He was then elected for North Derbyshire in 1837 and held the seat until 1853,Gentlemen's Magazine 1856
/ref> when he resigned by taking the

Chiltern Hundreds The Chiltern Hundreds is an ancient administrative area in Buckinghamshire, England, composed of three hundred (county division), ancient hundreds and lying partially within the Chiltern Hills. "Taking the Chiltern Hundreds" refers to one of the ...

. Evans became

High Sheriff of Derbyshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1567 until 1974 and High Sheriffs since. The ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around ...

in 1829 and was also a Deputy Lieutenant of

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

and J. P. He lived at Allestree Hall and was philanthropic in his support of schools and churches. Evans married Mary Gisborne, daughter of Rev. Thomas Gisborne of Yoxall Lodge in July 1820. In 1850 he bought Pickford's House in Derby from William Pickford. He left this house to his son

Sir Thomas William Evans, 1st Baronet Sir (Thomas) William Evans, 1st Baronet (15 April 1821 – 4 October 1892) was an English Liberal politician who represented the constituency of South Derbyshire. Background and education Evans was the son of William Evans of Allestree, Derby ...

who also became a Member of Parliament.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, William 1856 deaths People from Darley Dale Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for constituencies in Derbyshire UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 1788 births Deputy lieutenants of Derbyshire High sheriffs of Derbyshire Politicians from Derby