William Guidott (1671–1745), of

Laverstoke Laverstoke ( ) is a village in north west Hampshire, England. The On the other side of the River Test there is the settlement at Freefolk which is included in the Laverstock census return. In the early 18th century, Laverstoke Mill was purchased ...

and Preston Candover, Hampshire, was an English lawyer and Whig politician who sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

between 1708 and 1741.

Early life

Guidott was the eldest son of William Guidott of

Wootton St Lawrence Wootton St Lawrence is a small village in the civil parish of Wootton St Lawrence with Ramsdell, in Hampshire, England, west of Basingstoke. The name is derived from the Old English ''wudu tun'' meaning woodland settlement or farm. History Th ...

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Berkshire to the north, Surrey and West Sussex to the east, the Isle of Wight across the Solent to the south, ...

and his first wife Grace. He matriculated at New Inn Hall,

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

, on 22 March 1685, aged 14, and on 10 November 1686 became a student of

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

. In 1698, he succeeded his father and like his father was Steward of Andover, serving from 1703 for the rest of his life. He married Jane Hunt, daughter of James Hunt of Popham, Hampshire by licence dated 1 July 1706. In 1707 he succeeded his uncle Anthony Guidott as lawyer to the Marlborough family.

Career

Guidott was returned unopposed as Whig Member of Parliament for

Andover Andover may refer to: Places Australia *Andover, Tasmania Canada * Andover Parish, New Brunswick * Perth-Andover, New Brunswick United Kingdom * Andover, Hampshire, England ** RAF Andover, a former Royal Air Force station United States * Andov ...

at the

1708 British general election The 1708 British general election was the first general election to be held after the Acts of Union had united the Parliaments of England and Scotland. The election saw the Whigs gain a majority in the House of Commons, and by November the Whi ...

. He voted in favour of naturalizing the Palatines in 1709, and voted for the impeachment of Dr Sacheverell in 1710. He married, as his second wife, Jane Child, daughter of Sir Francis Child, on 6 May 1710. At the

1710 British general election The 1710 British general election produced a landslide victory for the Tories. The election came in the wake of the prosecution of Henry Sacheverell, which had led to the collapse of the previous government led by Godolphin and the Whig Junto. ...

, he was returned unopposed again. He voted for the motion of ‘ No Peace Without Spain’ on 7 December 1711, and voted against the French commerce bill on 18 June 1713. He was returned for Andover in a contest at the

1713 British general election The 1713 British general election was held on 22 August 1713 to 12 November 1713, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It produced further gains for the governing Tory party. Since 1710 R ...

. Guidott was returned as a Whig again at the

1715 British general election The 1715 British general election was held on 22 January 1715 to 9 March 1715, to elect members of the House of Commons, the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain. It returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 5th Parliam ...

and voted with the Administration on the septennial bill in 1716 and voted for the Peerage Bill. He became bencher of his Inn in 1719. At the

1722 British general election The 1722 British general election elected members to serve in the House of Commons of the 6th Parliament of Great Britain. This was the fifth such election since the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Tha ...

, he was again returned for Andover. In 1727 he was sued in Chancery by the Duchess of Marlborough for the recovery of £9,547, which she claimed he had embezzled. He was ordered to pay £5,494, which on appeal was increased by £754. At the

1727 British general election The 1727 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 7th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election was trigg ...

he lost his seat at Andover, after he had quarrelled with the corporation. He was returned for Andover again at a by-election on 20 January 1730. He voted with the Opposition in every recorded division He was returned unopposed at the

1734 British general election The 1734 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the 8th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scot ...

. At the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

. Guidott married, as his third wife, Patience Soper, daughter of John Soper of Preston Candover, Hampshire, on 30 November 1739. They lived in Preston House, which he built at Preston Candover near

Basingstoke Basingstoke ( ) is a town in Hampshire, situated in south-central England across a valley at the source of the River Loddon on the western edge of the North Downs. It is the largest settlement in Hampshire without city status in the United King ...

and at Andover. He left no children and on the death of his wife in 1749 Preston Candover passed to their kinsman and heir William Woodroffe, who adopted the name of Guidott.

References

1671 births 1745 deaths People from Laverstoke Alumni of New Inn Hall, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 People from Preston Candover {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub