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Sir William à Court, 1st Baronet

Sir William Pierce Ashe à Court, 1st Baronet (c. 1747 – 22 July 1817) was a British soldier and Member of Parliament (MP).

Early life

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À Court was the only son of General William Ashe-à Court, MP for Heytesbury, and Anne Vernon, a daughter of Thomas Vernon.[1]

His paternal grandparents were Pierce à Court, MP, and Elizabeth Ashe of Ivy Church, Wiltshire.[2] His paternal uncle was Pierce A'Court-Ashe, also an MP for Heytesbury.[1]

Career

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He represented Heytesbury in the House of Commons from 1781 to 1790 and again from 1806 to 1807. In 1795 he was created a baronet, of Heytesbury in the County of Wiltshire. He was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the short-lived Wiltshire Supplementary Militia in 1797[3] and High Sheriff of Wiltshire for 1812.[4]

Personal life

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Laetitia à Court, née Wyndham (George Romney)

In 1769 à Court married Catherine Bradford, daughter of John Bradford. In 1777 Catherine A'Court died in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; her memorial plaque in Cheltenham's parish church suggests this was due to her having been poisoned with arsenic by a servant. The following year à Court married Laetitia Wyndham, daughter of Henry Wyndham and sister of Henry Penruddocke Wyndham, MP for Wiltshire. Together they were the parents of six children:

He died in July 1817 and was succeeded in the baronetcy by his son William, who became Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and was elevated to the peerage as Baron Heytesbury in 1828. Lady à Court died in 1821.[1]

Descendants

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Through his youngest son Charles, he was posthumously a grandfather of Elizabeth Ash à Court-Repington (1822–1911), who married the Rt. Hon. Sidney Herbert in 1846 and had seven children, including the 13th and 14th Earls of Pembroke & Montgomery.[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "A'COURT, William Pierce Ashe (1747–1817), of Heytesbury, Wilts". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
  2. ^ "A'COURT, William (c.1708-81), of Heytesbury, Wilts". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  3. ^ Kenrick, p. 296.
  4. ^ Col N.C.E. Kenrick, The Story of the Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's): The 62nd and 99th Foot (1756–1959), the Militia and the Territorials, the Service Battalions and all those others who have served or been affiliated with the Moonrakers, Aldershot: Gale & Polden, 1963.
  5. ^ "Death of the Earl of St. Germans". Weekly Chronicle. London, England. 25 January 1845. p. 3. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  6. ^ Doyle, James William Edmund (1886). The Official Baronage of England, v. 3. London: Longmans, Green. pp. 95–96.
  7. ^ Stephen, Leslie; Lee, Sidney, eds. (1891). "Heytesbury, William A'Court" . Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 26. London: Smith, Elder & Co.
  8. ^ "Beadon, Richard (BDN754R)". A Cambridge Alumni Database. University of Cambridge.
  9. ^ Farrell, Stephen (2009). Fisher, D. R. (ed.). "A'COURT, Edward Henry (1783-1855), of Heytesbury, Wilts. and 16 Ryder Street, Mdx". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
  10. ^ Debrett's Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and Companionage: Comprising Information Concerning All Persons Bearing Hereditary Or Courtesy Titles, Knights, and Companions of All the Various Orders, and the Collateral Branches of All Peers and Baronets. Dean & Son, Limited. 1903. p. 426. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  11. ^ Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, [page needed]
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Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Heytesbury
1781–1790
With: William Eden
Succeeded by
Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Heytesbury
1806–1807
With: Charles Abbot
Succeeded by
Baronetage of Great Britain
New creation Baronet
(of Heytesbury)
1795–1817
Succeeded by