View source for William Wells (1818–1889)

{{Short description|English Liberal Party politician}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2013}}
'''William Wells''' (15 March 1818 – 1 May 1889)<ref name="rayment-p1">{{rayment-hc|p|1|date=March 2012}}</ref><ref name="rayment-b3">{{rayment-hc|b|3|date=March 2012}}</ref> was an English [[Liberal Party (UK)|Liberal Party]] politician who sat in the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] from 1852 to 1857 and from 1868 to 1874.
Wells was the son of Captain William Wells, R.N. and his wife Lady Elizabeth Proby, daughter of [[John Proby, 1st Earl of Carysfort]], and grandson of Vice-Admiral Thomas Wells, of Holme, whose father, William, had inherited the estate from his wife's uncle, Thomas Truman, in 1768.<ref name="debrett-1870">{{cite book
|last=Mair
|first=Robert Henry
|title=Debrett's Illustrated House of Commons and the Judicial Bench 1870
|url=https://archive.org/stream/debrettshouseo1870londuoft#page/283/mode/1up
|year=1870
|publisher=Dean & Son
|location=London
|page= 283
}}</ref> He was educated at [[Harrow School]] and at [[Balliol College, Oxford]], and served in the [[1st Life Guards]] from 1839 until 1843.<ref name="debrett-1870" /> In 1826 he inherited [[Holme, Cambridgeshire|Holmewood Hall]] in Huntingdonshire from his father. He also inherited the Redleaf estate in Kent from his great-uncle William.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.holmewoodhall.co.uk/history| title= The History of Holmewood Hall|accessdate = 11 February 2013}}</ref>
He was a [[Justice of the Peace|J.P.]] and a [[Deputy Lieutenant]] for Kent and Huntingdonshire.<ref name="debrett-1870" />
At the [[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852 general election]] Wells was elected as a member of parliament (MP) for the [[Beverley (UK Parliament constituency)|borough of Beverley]].<ref>{{London Gazette
|issue= 21341
|date= 20 July 1852
|page=2011
}}</ref>
He held the seat until his defeat in the [[1857 United Kingdom general election|1857]]<ref name="rayment-b3" /> by the Liberal [[Edward Auchmuty Glover|Edward Glover]].<ref name="craig-beverley">{{cite book
|last=Craig
|first=F. W. S.
|authorlink= F. W. S. Craig
|title=British parliamentary election results 1832–1885
|origyear=1977
|edition= 2nd
|year=1989
|publisher= Parliamentary Research Services
|location=Chichester
|isbn= 0-900178-26-4
|page=43
}}</ref>
An [[election petition]] was lodged by Wells<ref name="times-1857-07-13">{{cite news
|url=http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/946/949/100030947w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS184979693&dyn=72!nxt_4_0_CS184979693
|title=Northern Circuit. York, July 10
|date=13 July 1857
|work=[[The Times]]
|pages=11, col B
|accessdate=18 December 2010
|location=London
}} {{subscription required}}</ref> on the grounds that Glover was not duly qualified,<ref name="times-1857-05-23">{{cite news
|url= http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/946/949/100030947w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS202543287&dyn=71!nxt_3_0_CS202543287
|title=Election Petitions
|date=23 May 1857
|work=The Times
|pages=12, col D
|accessdate=18 December 2010
|location=London
}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
because he did not meet the property-holding requirements.<ref name="times-1853-08-03">{{cite news
|url= http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/946/949/100030947w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS117739779
|title= Election Committees. Beverley.
|date= 3 August 1857
|work= The Times
|pages= 7, col B
|accessdate= 18 December 2010
|location= London
}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
The issue had been raised during the election, and handbills circulated to that effect, but Glover had denied the allegations.<ref name="times-1853-08-03" /> On 3 August 1853, the committee ruled that Glover had not been duly qualified, and that his election was void.<ref name="times-1853-08-04">{{cite news
|url= http://infotrac.galegroup.com/itw/infomark/946/949/100030947w16/purl=rc1_TTDA_0_CS50630916&dyn=75!nxt_6_0_CS50630916
|title= Election Committees. Beverley.
|date= 4 August 1857
|work= The Times
|pages= 3, col E
|accessdate= 18 December 2010
|location= London
}} {{subscription required}}</ref>
A [[1853 Beverley by-election|by-election]] was held on 11 August 1853, when Wells stood again, but was defeated by the Conservative candidate [[Sir Henry Edwards, 1st Baronet|Henry Edwards]].
Wells contested the [[Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)|City of Peterborough]] at the [[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852 general election]], where he was the third-placed of the three Liberal candidates.<ref name="craig-pboro">Craig, pages 237–238</ref> He won the seat at the [[1868 United Kingdom general election|1868 general election]],<ref>{{London Gazette
|issue= 23443
|date= 20 November 1868
|page=5997
}}</ref>
defeating the Liberal MP [[Thomson Hankey]],<ref name="craig-pboro" /> a former [[Governor of the Bank of England]]. Wells remained an MP for Peterborough and held the seat until the [[1874 United Kingdom general election|1874 general election]],<ref name="rayment-p1" /> when he did not stand again.<ref name="craig-pboro" />
He was appointed [[High Sheriff of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire]] for 1875.<ref>{{London Gazette|issue=24177|page=449|date=4 February 1875}}</ref> He was also a keen agriculturalist and President of the [[Royal Agricultural Society of England|Royal Agricultural Society]] in 1880.
Wells died at the age of 71. He had married Lady Louisa Wemyss-Charteris, the daughter of the [[Francis Wemyss-Charteris, 9th Earl of Wemyss]] in 1854. They had no children.
==References==
{{Reflist|colwidth=33em}}
==External links==
* {{hansard-contribs | mr-william-wells | William Wells}}
{{s-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef
| before  = [[John Towneley (politician)|John Towneley]]
| before2 = [[Sackville Lane-Fox]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of Parliament for [[Beverley (UK Parliament constituency)|Beverley]]
| years = [[1852 United Kingdom general election|1852]]–[[1857 United Kingdom general election|1857]]
| with  = [[Francis Charles Lawley|Hon. Francis Charles Lawley]] 1852–1854
| with2 = [[Arthur Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Baron Stanmore|Hon. Arthur Hamilton-Gordon]] 1854–1857
}}
{{s-aft
| after  = [[Edward Glover (Conservative politician)|Edward Glover]]
| after2 = [[William Denison, 1st Earl of Londesborough|Hon. William Denison]]
}}
{{s-bef
| before  = [[Thomson Hankey]]
| before2 = [[George Hammond Whalley]]
}}
{{s-ttl
| title = Member of Parliament for [[Peterborough (UK Parliament constituency)|Peterborough]]
| years = [[1868 United Kingdom general election|1868]]–[[1874 United Kingdom general election|1874]]
| with  = [[George Hammond Whalley]]
}}
{{s-aft
| after  = [[Thomson Hankey]]
| after2 = [[George Hammond Whalley]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wells, William}}
[[Category:1818 births]]
[[Category:1889 deaths]]
[[Category:People educated at Harrow School]]
[[Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1852–1857]]
[[Category:UK MPs 1868–1874]]
[[Category:Politics of Peterborough]]
[[Category:British Life Guards officers]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of Kent]]
[[Category:Deputy lieutenants of Huntingdonshire]]
[[Category:High sheriffs of Cambridgeshire and Huntingdonshire]]