William Aislabie (1700–1781)

Who was William Aislabie (1700–1781)?

William Aislabie (1700–1781) was the son of John Aislabie.

He was first elected as Member of Parliament for Ripon in 1721 and served continuously until his death in 1781. In the immediate aftermath of his father's disgrace for his connection with the South Sea Bubble, Aislabie's brother John Aislabie Jr. had served as a member of Parliament from Ripon. William Aislabie actually directly succeeded his uncle of the same name as a MP for Ripon. Part of the time he was MP for Ripon the other MP was his cousin, also named William Aislabie. In 1738 Aislabie was also appointed one of the Auditors of the Impress.

Aislabie married Lady Elizabeth Cecil the daughter of the 6th Earl of Exeter.

On his father's death in 1742 he inherited the Studley estate and in 1768 he purchased the Fountains estate for £16,000.

Aislabie also spent large amounts of energy developing gardens on his various estates.