William Bigge (1707–1758) was an English lawyer, landowner and colliery owner.

Life

He was the son of Thomas Bigge and became one of the

Six Clerks The Six Clerks' Office was a public legal office that served the equitable jurisdiction of the English Court of Chancery in London, England, until the mid-19th century. The Office The Office was in Chancery Lane, near the Holborn end. The busine ...

in Chancery. Bigg's Estate Act 1709 ( 8 Ann. c. 23) related to the estate of his paternal grandfather William Bigg(e), an attorney in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne, or simply Newcastle ( , Received Pronunciation, RP: ), is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is England's northernmost metropolitan borough, located o ...

, and resulted in the estate going to his father. Bigge owned the manor of Little Benton and was

High Sheriff of Northumberland This is a list of the high sheriffs of the English county of Northumberland. The high sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the High Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries ...

in 1750/1. He also by the late 1730s owned collieries, at Little Benton,

Heddon-on-the-Wall Heddon-on-the-Wall is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England, located on Hadrian's Wall. Heddon-on-the-Wall is roughly west of the centre of Newcastle upon Tyne, and just outside Throckley. In 2011 the parish had a population of ...

, and East and West Heddon. In the early 1750s, Bigge acted as an agent for

Charles Brandling Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was ...

, then a minor, making land purchases around

Hunslet Hunslet () is an inner-city area in south Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It is southeast of the Leeds city centre, city centre and has an industrial past. It is situated in the Hunslet and Riverside (ward), Hunslet and Riverside ward of Lee ...

in Yorkshire. These were associated with the development of the Middleton Colliery. He was involved also in the construction of the

Military Road A military road is a type of road built by an armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and ma ...

, with its eastern end at Heddon-on-the-Wall. His brother Edward was a solicitor to the Commissioners for the construction.William Lawson, ''The Construction of the Military Road from Newcastle to Carlisle, 1751–1758'' (1971), Durham University (PDF), pp. 228 and 53
/ref> Bigge enlarged his house at Benton House and bought into Witton and Coldcoats. He died at Benton House on 30 June 1758.

Family

Bigge on 29 January 1736 married Mary Clarke, daughter and heiress of Charles Clarke of

Ovingham Ovingham is a village and civil parish in the Tyne Valley of south Northumberland, England. It lies on the River Tyne east of Hexham with neighbours Prudhoe, Ovington, Wylam and Stocksfield. The River Tyne provided an obstacle between Ovi ...

. By his marriage, Bigge reportedly gained a fortune of £25,000. He came to own lands that had originally belonged to a cell of

Hexham Priory Hexham Abbey is a Grade I listed church dedicated to St Andrew, in the town of Hexham, Northumberland, in the North East of England. Originally built in AD 674, the Abbey was built up during the 12th century into its current form, with addit ...

, and gained estates at Ovington and

Stannington, Northumberland Stannington is a village and civil parish in Northumberland, England. The population of the civil parish was 1,219 at the 2001 Census, increasing to 1,280 at the 2011 Census. Stannington is divided into three: Stannington North-East Quarter, S ...

. There were four sons: * Thomas Charles Bigge, the eldest; *William Edward Bigge, unmarried, who inherited property at Brinkley ( Brenkley) from Edward Bigge, his uncle; *Charles Clarke Bigge, died young; *John (died 1797), leaving property to John Thomas Bigge, son of Thomas Charles Bigge. Besides his brother Edward, who died unmarried, Bigge had a brother Thomas, who married Elizabeth Rundell, sister of

Philip Rundell Philip Rundell (1746–1827) was a highly prosperous English jeweller, fine jewellery retailer and master jewellery makers' business proprietor, known for his association with royalty. With John Bridge, he ran and co-owned Rundell and Bridge, a f ...

the jeweller; and a sister Grace who married Sir Robert Carr. Two other sisters died unmarried.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bigge, William 1707 births 1758 deaths English lawyers 18th-century English landowners British businesspeople in the coal industry High sheriffs of Northumberland