William Vane, 1st Viscount Vane (1682 – 20 May 1734), of Fairlawn, Kent, 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 ...

between 1708 and 1734.

Early life

Vane was baptized on 17 February 1682, the second surviving son of

Christopher Vane, 1st Baron Barnard Christopher Vane, 1st Baron Barnard (21 May 1653 – 28 October 1723), was an English peer. He served in Parliament for Durham after his brother, Thomas, died 4 days after being elected the MP for Durham. Then, again from January 1689 to Novembe ...

and Lady Elizabeth Holles. His father inherited

Raby Castle Raby Castle () is a medieval castle located near Staindrop in County Durham, England, among of deer park. It was built by John Neville, 3rd Baron Neville de Raby, between approximately 1367 and 1390. Cecily Neville, the mother of the Kings Ed ...

Durham Durham most commonly refers to: *Durham, England, a cathedral city in north east England **County Durham, a ceremonial county which includes Durham *Durham, North Carolina, a city in North Carolina, United States Durham may also refer to: Places ...

and

Fairlawne Fairlawne is a Grade I listed house in Shipbourne, Kent, England, about 30 miles southeast of central London. The Fairlawne Estate is extensive and stretches to Plaxtol. Architecture Fairlawne was rebuilt for Sir Henry Vane the Elder in 1630� ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

in 1662.Mounsey p. 23 His paternal grandfather was

Henry Vane the Younger Sir Henry Vane (baptised 26 March 161314 June 1662), often referred to as Harry Vane and Henry Vane the Younger to distinguish him from his father, Henry Vane the Elder, was an England, English politician, statesman, and colonial governor. He ...

who was beheaded at Tower Hill in 1662. His mother was a daughter of

Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare Gilbert Holles, 3rd Earl of Clare (24 April 1633 – 16 January 1689) was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1660. He was styled Lord Haughton from 1637 until he succeeded to the title Earl of Clare in 1666. Life Holles wa ...

and the sister of

John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle John Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle (9 January 1662 – 15 July 1711) was an English peer and politician. Early life Holles was born in Edwinstowe, Nottinghamshire, the son of the 3rd Earl of Clare and his wife Grace Pierrepont. Grace was a ...

. He inherited a substantial fortune from his mother's family.thepeerage.com William Vane, 1st Viscount Vane
/ref>

Career

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 ...

, Vane was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament for

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

on his father's interest. He was active as a teller for various electoral disputes and voted for the naturalization of the Palatines, and for 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. ...

, his father decided to drop him, so he did not stand. In 1720 Vane was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as Baron Vane, of Dungannon in the County of Tyrone, and Viscount Vane. These titles did not disqualify him from sitting in the House of Commons. He succeeded his father in 1723. 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 ...

Vane was successfully returned in a contest for

Steyning Steyning ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Horsham District, Horsham district of West Sussex, England. It is located at the north end of the River Adur gap in the South Downs, north of the coastal town of Shoreha ...

. At the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

he was defeated at Steyning but returned in a contest as MP for

. However, he died suddenly only five days later.

Personal life

In 1703, he married Lucy Jolliffe, daughter of Sir William Jolliffe, of

Caverswall Castle Caverswall Castle is a privately owned early-17th-century English mansion built in a castellar style upon the foundations and within the walls of a 13th-century castle, in Caverswall, Staffordshire. It is a Grade I listed building. The castle i ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

. The settlement dated 15 November 1703 included Fairlawn, Kent, and lands in Durham, providing Vane with £600 p.a. for himself and his wife. After the marriage, Vane's father refused to include Fairlawn in the settlement, and took ‘great displeasure’ and stopped the allowance when his son took legal advice. The case came before 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 ...

and the settlement was confirmed. Vane kept possession of Fairlawn. Together, they were the parents of: * Christopher Vane, who predeceased Lord Vane. * John Vane, who predeceased Lord Vane. * William Vane, 2nd Viscount Vane (1714–1789), who married Frances, Lady William Hamilton who was previously married to the 4th Duke of Hamilton's second son,

Lord William Hamilton Lord William Hamilton (c. 1706 – 11 July 1734) was a member of Parliament for Lanarkshire. Early life Lord William was the second oldest child of James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton, and his second wife Elizabeth (née Gerard). When the ...

. Vane died of apoplexy on 20 May 1734 at Fairlawn,

Shipbourne Shipbourne ( ) is a village and civil parish situated between the towns of Sevenoaks and Tonbridge, in the borough of Tonbridge and Malling in the English county of Kent. In 2020 it was named as the most expensive village in Kent. It is locate ...

, where he was buried on 5 June. He was succeeded in the viscountcy by his only surviving son,

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 ...

. Lady Vane died in March 1742.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vane, William Vane, 1st Viscount 1682 births 1734 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George I Younger sons of barons