William Dowdeswell

Who was William Dowdeswell?

William Dowdeswell was a British land-owner and politician from Worcestershire.

He was born the son of Richard Dowdeswell, M.P. of Pull Court, Bushley, Worcestershire and educated at Eton College and Christ Church, Oxford. He succeeded his father in 1711.

His family owned the Pull Court estate near Bushley in Worcestershire. Several members of the family were MPs, including William's father, who was MP for Tewkesbury in ten successive parliaments.

He himself was also Member of Parliament for Tewkesbury from 1712 to 1722. He was appointed Sheriff of Worcestershire for 1726.

He died in 1728. He had married twice; firstly Katharine, the daughter of Charles Cokayne, 3rd Viscount Cullen, with whom he had a son and a daughter and secondly Amy, daughter of Anthony Hammond, M.P. and poet, of Somersham, Huntingdonshire, with whom he had four sons. He was succeeded by his son William Dowdeswell, who later became Chancellor of the Exchequer.