Edmund Meysey Wigley (1758 – 9 September 1821), called Edmund Wigley until 1811, was a British lawyer and politician, who served as Member of Parliament for

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

Biography

Edmund Wigley was the son of Rev. Henry Wigley and his wife Mary, daughter of Edward Ludlam, alderman of

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. Although ordained, Henry was vicar of

Scraptoft Scraptoft is a village in Leicestershire, England. It has a population of about 1,500, measured at the 2011 census as 1,804. It lies north of the A47 road east of Leicester, and runs directly into the built up area of Thurnby and Bushby to t ...

, Leicestershire only until 1767, retiring before he turned 40; he was also lord of the manors of

Ullesthorpe Ullesthorpe is a small village and civil parish situated in the Harborough district in southern Leicestershire. Ullesthorpe is noted for its historic background with a mill, disused railway station and traces of a medieval settlement evident o ...

, Leicestershire (from his father) and Pensham, Worcestershire (from his mother). Wigley entered the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1776, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in 1788. He worked as a lawyer on the Oxford circuit, and served as Recorder of Leicester 1787–1798. In 1788, William Ward succeeded to the peerage as Viscount Dudley. In the ensuing by-election at Worcester, on 4 March 1789, Wigley was elected unopposed. The independent freemen of Worcester supported him as a respectable local man, and guaranteed his expenses. He would be re-elected in

1790 Events January–March * January 8 – United States President George Washington gives the first State of the Union address, in New York City. * January 11 – The 11 minor states of the Austrian Netherlands, which took pa ...

(heading the poll) and

1796 Events January–March * January 16 – The first Dutch (and general) elections are held for the National Assembly of the Batavian Republic. (The next Dutch general elections are held in 1888.) * February 1 – The capital of Upper Can ...

(unopposed). He opposed the

Impeachment of Warren Hastings The impeachment of Warren Hastings, the first governor-general of the Bengal Presidency in India, was attempted between 1787 and 1795 in the Parliament of Great Britain. Hastings was accused of misconduct during his time in Calcutta, particularl ...

, speaking several times against it, and as a member of the committee reviewing the impeachment, dissented against the committee's favourable report. He repeatedly opposed the government's tax measures, in line with the wishes of his middle-class constituents. He opposed the

union with Ireland The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

. Wigley was unexpectedly defeated by a third candidate in

1802 Events January–March * January 5 – Thomas Bruce, 7th Earl of Elgin, British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire, begins removal of the Elgin Marbles from the Parthenon in Athens, claiming they are at risk of destruction during the Ott ...

. He had relied on local support, and had not kept a promise to treat his supporters to a feast after the previous election. His friends thought the defeat was "effected by prejudices as groundless and unfounded as derogatory to the general character of the inhabitants of this city".

Family

On 24 September 1795, Edmund Wigley married Anna Maria Meysey, daughter of Charles Watkins Meysey and Anna Maria Meysey. They had five children: * Anna Maria (1797–1884), married 1825 John Michael Severne (parents of John Edmund Severne ) * Edmund (1798–1833), lieutenant-colonel of the Enniskillen Dragoons, adopted the additional surname Greswolde * Caroline (1801–1873), author, married 1840 Rev. Archer Clive * Mary Charlotte (1802–1878), married 1834 Charles Wicksted né Tollett * Charles Meysey (1803–1830), clergyman Wigley's father-in-law Charles Watkins Meysey was born Charles Watkins, son of Rev. Richard Watkins and Anne Meysey; he assumed the name Meysey on inheriting the Meysey family estate of Shakenhurst near Bayton, Worcestershire in 1764, and married his cousin Anna Maria Meysey. Anna Maria (their daughter) inherited Shakenhurst on Watkins' death in 1777. As his father-in-law had done, Wigley adopted the additional name Meysey, by Act of Parliament on 15 June 1811.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wigley, Edmund 1758 births 1821 deaths Members of the Middle Temple British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 UK MPs 1801–1802 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Worcester Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Worcester