Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet facts for kids
Sir William Clayton, 1st Baronet (who died in 1744), was an English politician. He served in the House of Commons, which is a part of the British Parliament, from 1715 until his death in 1744. He lived at Marden Park in Surrey and later at Harleyford.
His Family and Early Life
William Clayton was the oldest son of William Clayton from Hambleden, Buckinghamshire. He married Martha Kenrick, whose father, John Kenrick, was a successful merchant in London.
Sir William Clayton was also the nephew of a very important man named Sir Robert Clayton. Sir Robert was a rich banker and had even been the Lord Mayor of London. The Lord Mayor is a special leader of the City of London.
Sir Robert had bought a large estate called the manor of Bletchingley in 1677. Owning this manor gave him control over both of the political seats for the area, known as the parliamentary borough of Bletchingley. This meant he could decide who would represent Bletchingley in Parliament.
Becoming a Politician
Because his uncle controlled the seats, Sir William Clayton was able to become a Member of Parliament (MP) for Bletchingley. This type of area was sometimes called a "rotten borough" because very few people lived there, but it still had a lot of power in Parliament.
He was elected as an MP in several general elections:
- 1715
- 1722
- 1727
- 1734
- 1741
Most of the time, Sir William voted with the government, which was called the "Administration." However, he did vote against them a couple of times. For example, in 1719, he voted against the Peerage Bill, which was a law about who could become a peer (a noble). In 1730, he also voted against the government on a matter concerning the Hessians, who were German soldiers.
Land and Titles
In 1732, Sir William Clayton was given a special title: he was made a baronet of Marden. A baronet is a hereditary title, meaning it can be passed down in the family, similar to a knight but higher.
In 1735, he bought another large estate, the manor of Harleyford, which was near Great Marlow. This purchase also gave him control over one of the two parliamentary seats for the borough of Great Marlow.
His Later Life and Family
Sir William Clayton passed away on December 28, 1744. He had a large family, with five sons and five daughters.
His oldest son, Kenrick, inherited his title and became the 2nd Baronet. After Kenrick, his son Robert became the 3rd Baronet. Robert did not have any children, so the title then went to Sir William's grandson, William. This William was the son of the first baronet's younger son, also named William.
One of Sir William Clayton's daughters, Anne, married John Thomas. He had been a tutor for the family and later became a very important church leader, the Bishop of Rochester.
