Constituency : Worcester 1852-60, 1868-74 (Conservative)
William was a rich solicitor first elected in 1852 .He got back in again in 1857 despite voting against Palmerston in the China debate.
William resigned his seat in 1860 for reasons that are obscure.
William won the seat again in 1868 but this time as a Conservative, styling himself a "turncoat" and "renegade Rad." mainly it seems to thwart Lord Lyttelton with whom he had a personal feud relating to William's unhappy marriage in the 1840's. Lyttelton's son was running for the Liberals and expected to be unopposed. William came top of the poll. Despite this change of colours William remained progressive enough to chair a women's suffrage meeting at Worcester in 1872. He was defeated in 1874
William was a local eccentric who combined public philanthropy with private miserliness. He bought the city gaol and converted it to a home for impoverished couples in 1867. He also spent liberally on churches, parks , cemeteries and almshouses. On the other hand he neglected his wife ( whose father's debts he had paid off ) to the extent of keeping her room cold when she was ill. He also dressed extremely slovenly and did his own maintenance rather than pay a workman.
He died in 1884 aged 83.
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