He was born on 13 May 1736 as "William Elcock", the son and heir of Richard Elcock (d.1762) (who later adopted the surname of Weddell in lieu of his patronymic), later of Newby Hall, which he purchased in 1748. His great-uncle was Thomas Weddell of Earswick, Paymaster to the Navy, who made a large fortune during the South Sea Bubble.
Careeredit
He was educated at Dr. Newcome's Academy in Hackney, and later at St. John’s College, Cambridge (1753), at the expense of his great-uncle Thomas Weddell, who bequeathed his fortune to Richard Elcock on condition that he and William should change their surnames to Weddell. He trained as a lawyer at Gray's Inn in 1753. In 1762 whilst on the Grand Tour, William Weddell became heir to his father, his elder brother having died.[1] William was thus in a position to start what became a renowned collection of classical antiquities, including the Barberini Venus, which sold in 2002 for £8 million. He upgraded and extended Newby Hall to house his collection.
He married Elizabeth Ramsden, a daughter of Sir John Ramsden, 3rd Baronet and a half-sister of Lady Rockingham, by whom he had no surviving children.
Death and burialedit
He died on 30 April 1792 and was buried in Ripon Minster (now Ripon Cathedral) where survives his unusual monument consisting of a representation of a Greek temple containing his bust by Joseph Nollekens.[1]
Successionedit
He had no surviving children and left Newby Hall to his distant cousin Thomas Robinson, 2nd Earl de Grey (1781-1859), then 3rd Baron Grantham, who in 1803 in accordance with the bequest changed his name to Weddell, but in accordance with a further bequest from his maternal aunt changed it again in 1833 to Grey.[3]
Further readingedit
Dugdale's Visitation of Yorkshire: Volume 2 (1907) edited by J.W. Clay, pp. 205–7, pedigree of Weddell [1]
^"WEDDELL, William (1736-92), of Newby, Yorks". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 16 February 2013.
^G. C. Boase, ‘Grey, Thomas Philip de , second Earl De Grey (1781–1859)’, rev. H. C. G. Matthew, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, May 2009 accessed 9 Aug 2017
william, weddell, 1736, april, 1792, newby, hall, parish, skelton, near, ripon, west, riding, yorkshire, british, landowner, politician, house, commons, between, 1766, 1792, created, notable, collection, antiquities, including, barberini, venus, portrait, pomp. William Weddell 13 May 1736 30 April 1792 of Newby Hall in the parish of Skelton on Ure near Ripon in the West Riding of Yorkshire was a British landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1766 and 1792 He created a notable collection of antiquities including the Barberini Venus William Weddell portrait by Pompeo Batoni frequented by many young Englishmen on the Grand Tour Monument to William Weddell Ripon Cathedral Contents 1 Origins 2 Career 3 Marriage 4 Death and burial 5 Succession 6 Further reading 7 ReferencesOrigins editHe was born on 13 May 1736 as William Elcock the son and heir of Richard Elcock d 1762 who later adopted the surname of Weddell in lieu of his patronymic later of Newby Hall which he purchased in 1748 His great uncle was Thomas Weddell of Earswick Paymaster to the Navy who made a large fortune during the South Sea Bubble Career editHe was educated at Dr Newcome s Academy in Hackney and later at St John s College Cambridge 1753 at the expense of his great uncle Thomas Weddell who bequeathed his fortune to Richard Elcock on condition that he and William should change their surnames to Weddell He trained as a lawyer at Gray s Inn in 1753 In 1762 whilst on the Grand Tour William Weddell became heir to his father his elder brother having died 1 William was thus in a position to start what became a renowned collection of classical antiquities including the Barberini Venus which sold in 2002 for 8 million He upgraded and extended Newby Hall to house his collection He was elected a Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull in 1766 sitting until 1774 He was elected for Malton in 1775 serving until 1784 and again in 1784 serving until 1792 2 Marriage editHe married Elizabeth Ramsden a daughter of Sir John Ramsden 3rd Baronet and a half sister of Lady Rockingham by whom he had no surviving children Death and burial editHe died on 30 April 1792 and was buried in Ripon Minster now Ripon Cathedral where survives his unusual monument consisting of a representation of a Greek temple containing his bust by Joseph Nollekens 1 Succession editHe had no surviving children and left Newby Hall to his distant cousin Thomas Robinson 2nd Earl de Grey 1781 1859 then 3rd Baron Grantham who in 1803 in accordance with the bequest changed his name to Weddell but in accordance with a further bequest from his maternal aunt changed it again in 1833 to Grey 3 Further reading editDugdale s Visitation of Yorkshire Volume 2 1907 edited by J W Clay pp 205 7 pedigree of Weddell 1 References edit a b WILLIAM WEDDELL S REFINED TASTE Ripon Civic Society Retrieved 16 February 2013 WEDDELL William 1736 92 of Newby Yorks History of Parliament Online Retrieved 16 February 2013 G C Boase Grey Thomas Philip de second Earl De Grey 1781 1859 rev H C G Matthew Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Oxford University Press 2004 online edn May 2009 accessed 9 Aug 2017 Parliament of Great Britain Preceded byLord Robert MannersSir George Montgomery Metham Member of Parliament for Kingston upon Hull1766 1774 With Lord Robert Manners Succeeded byLord Robert MannersDavid Hartley Preceded bySavile FinchEdmund Burke Member of Parliament for Malton1775 1784 With Savile Finch 1775 1780Edmund Burke 1780 1784 Succeeded byEdmund BurkeSir Thomas Gascoigne Preceded byEdmund BurkeSir Thomas Gascoigne Member of Parliament for Malton1784 1792 With Edmund Burke Succeeded byEdmund BurkeHon George Damer Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Weddell amp oldid 1219140676, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
