William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot

William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot (28 February 1728 – 22 October 1798), known as Sir William Bagot, 6th Baronet, from 1768 to 1780, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1780. He was then raised to the peerage as Baron Bagot.

The Lord Bagot
Portrait of Lord Bagot by Sir Joshua Reynolds
Member of Parliament for Staffordshire
In office
1754–1780
Preceded byWilliam Leveson-Gower
Sir Walter Wagstaffe Bagot
Succeeded bySir John Wrottesley
Viscount Lewisham
Personal details
Born
William Bagot

(1728-02-28)28 February 1728
Died22 October 1798(1798-10-22) (aged 70)
London, England
Political partyTory
RelationsWalter Bagot (brother)
Lewis Bagot (brother)
William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth (grandfather)
Sir Edward Bagot, 4th Baronet (grandfather)
Children9, including William, Charles, Richard
Parent(s)Sir Walter Bagot, 5th Baronet
Lady Barbara Legge
ResidenceBlithfield Hall
Alma materMagdalen College, Oxford

Early life

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Blithfield Hall, c.1850

Bagot was born on 28 February 1728. He was the eldest son of Sir Walter Bagot, 5th Baronet, and his wife Lady Barbara Legge. Among his siblings were Charles Bagot (who married Catherine Legge), the Rev. Walter Bagot of Pype Hayes Hall (who married Anne Swinnerton and, later, Mary Ward), Richard Bagot (who married a daughter of Viscount Andover) and the Right Reverend Lewis Bagot, Bishop of St Asaph.[1]

His paternal grandparents were Sir Edward Bagot, 4th Baronet and the former Frances Wagstaffe (daughter of Sir Thomas Wagstaffe of Tachbrook). His maternal grandparents were William Legge, 1st Earl of Dartmouth. His niece, Jane Margaret (daughter of his brother Walter by his second wife, Mary Ward) married the English judge Sir Edward Vaughan Williams in 1826 and they were the grandparents of the composer Ralph Vaughan Williams.[2]

He was educated at Magdalen College, Oxford, and graduated Master of Arts in 1749 and Doctor of Civil Law in 1754.[3]

Career

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Bagot then sat as a Tory Member of Parliament for Staffordshire from 1754 to 1780. In 1768, Bagot succeeded to the Baronetcy of Blithfield, Staffordshire, and to the family estate at Blithfield Hall on the death of his father.[4][5]

On 17 October 1780 he was raised to the Peerage of Great Britain as Baron Bagot, of Bagot's Bromley in the County of Stafford.[6]

Personal life

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On 20 August 1760, Bagot was married to Elizabeth St John (c. 1744–1820) in Wroxham. She was the eldest daughter of John St John, 2nd Viscount St John and the former Anne Furness (only child by his first wife of Sir Robert Furnese, 2nd Baronet) and sister of Frederick St John, 2nd Viscount Bolingbroke and Gen. Henry St John. Together, William and Elizabeth had nine children, including:[7]

He died in London on 22 October 1798, aged 70, and was succeeded by his eldest son William. Lady Bagot died in 1820.[7]

References

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  1. ^ Bagot, William Bagot, (2nd of) (1824). Memorials of the Bagot Family. Blithfield: W. Hodgetts. p. 141. Retrieved 20 May 2020.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  2. ^ Burke, John; Burke, Bernard (1846). "Annotated Obituary, in 'The Patrician', Vol. 2, p. 90, by John Burke, Sir Bernard Burke (published by E. Churton, 1846)". Retrieved 10 September 2017.
  3. ^ Foster, Joseph (1888–1892). "Bagot, William (1)" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: Parker and Co – via Wikisource.
  4. ^ Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990, [page needed]
  5. ^ Lundy, Darryl. "FAQ". The Peerage.[unreliable source]
  6. ^ "BAGOT, William (1728–98), of Blithfield, Staffs". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 3 December 2017.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Bagot, Baron (GB, 1780)". www.cracroftspeerage.co.uk. Heraldic Media Limited. Retrieved 20 May 2020.
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Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Member of Parliament for Staffordshire
1754–1780
Served alongside: William Leveson-Gower 1754–1757
Henry Thynne 1757–1761
Lord Grey of Groby 1761–1768
Sir John Wrottesley 1768–1780
Succeeded by
Peerage of Great Britain
New creation Baron Bagot
1780–1798
Succeeded by
Baronetage of England
Preceded by Baronet
(of Blithfield)
1768–1798
Succeeded by
  NODES
Note 1