Richard Wilbraham-Bootle (20 September 1725 – 13 March 1796) was a British landowner and 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 ...

for 29 years from 1761 to 1790.

Early life

He was born Richard Wilbraham on 20 September 1725, the eldest son of Dorothy ( Kenrick) Wilbraham and Randle Wilbraham of

Rode Hall Rode Hall, a Georgian architecture, Georgian English country house, country house, is the seat of the Baker Wilbraham baronets, Wilbraham family, members of the landed gentry in the parish of Odd Rode, Cheshire, England. The estate, with the o ...

, Cheshire. He matriculated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

on 8 July 1742 and entered

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 1742 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 1747.

Career

Wilbraham Bootle was returned as Member of Parliament for

Chester Chester is a cathedral city in Cheshire, England, on the River Dee, Wales, River Dee, close to the England–Wales border. With a built-up area population of 92,760 in 2021, it is the most populous settlement in the borough of Cheshire West an ...

without a contest in the 1761 general election and was returned unopposed again in

1768 Events January–March * January 9 – Philip Astley stages the first modern circus, with acrobats on galloping horses, in London. * February 11 – Samuel Adams's circular letter is issued by the Massachusetts House of Re ...

1774 Events January–March * January 21 – Mustafa III, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, dies and is succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I. * January 27 ** An angry crowd in Boston, Massachusetts seizes, tars, and feathers British customs ...

and

1780 Events January–March * January 16 – American Revolutionary War – Battle of Cape St. Vincent: British Admiral Sir George Rodney defeats a Spanish fleet. * February 19 – The legislature of New York votes to all ...

. In 1780 the English Chronicle described him as “one of the most independent Members in the House”. He was a member of the

St. Alban's Tavern group The St. Alban's Tavern group was an informal association of 78 United Kingdom, British Member of Parliament, Members of Parliament who aimed to bring about a reconciliation of William Pitt the Younger and Charles James Fox in a unified Ministry. The ...

which in February 1784 tried to bring Pitt and Fox together. In the 1784 general election, he was returned with a comfortable majority the first time he had to contest his seat at Chester. He retired in 1790. Only a few speeches by him are recorded and none were of any consequence. In 1758, he inherited Lathom House on the death of his wife's father and in 1770 inherited Rode Hall on the death of his own father.

Personal life

On 31 May 1755, he married Mary Bootle, daughter and heiress of

Robert Bootle Robert Bootle Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS ( – 7 May 1758) was an English ship's captain in the service of the East India Company who was elected four times to serve as a director of the company. Early life He was born at Lathom House in La ...

of Lathom House, Lancashire. Upon his marriage, he took the additional name of Bootle. Together, they were the parents of at least six sons and eight daughters, including: * Anne Dorothea Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1825), who married

Richard Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley Richard Pepper Arden, 1st Baron Alvanley (20 May 1744 – 19 March 1804) was a British barrister and Whig politician, who served as the Chief Justice of the Court of Common Pleas. He was a Member of Parliament from 1783 to 1801. Biography H ...

. * Francisca Alicia Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1810), who married Anthony Hardolph Eyre of

Grove Hall Grove Hall was an extended Tudor period, Tudor country house located between Retford and Grove, Nottinghamshire, Grove in Nottinghamshire, England, and was part of an extensive estate. History The barony of Grove, with the manor of West Retford, ...

in 1783; their daughter Mary Letitia Eyre married

Charles Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers Charles Herbert Pierrepont, 2nd Earl Manvers (11 August 1778 – 27 October 1860) was an English hereditary peer and naval officer. Early life and education Charles Pierrepont was the second son of Charles Pierrepont, 1st Earl Manvers and his ...

. * Mary Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1784), who married William Egerton in 1780. * Emma Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1797), who married Sir Charles Edmonstone, 2nd Baronet, of Duntreath, in 1794. * Sibylla Georgiana Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1799), who married William Ffarington in 1791. * Elizabeth Wilbraham-Bootle (d. 1841), who married the Rev. W. Barnes, Rector at Brixton Doverill, in 1821. * Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Baron Skelmersdale (1771–1853), who married Mary Elizabeth Taylor, daughter of Rev. Edward Taylor, in 1796. * Randle Bootle-Wilbraham (1773–1861), who married Letitia Rudd, daughter of Rev. Edward Rudd, in 1798. After her death in 1805, he married Sibylla Egerton, daughter of Philip Egerton, in 1808.G.E. Cokayne; with Vicary Gibbs, H.A. Doubleday, Geoffrey H. White, Duncan Warrand and Lord Howard de Walden, editors, ''The Complete Peerage of England, Scotland, Ireland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom, Extant, Extinct or Dormant, new ed., 13 volumes in 14'' (1910-1959; reprint in 6 volumes,

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

U.K. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

Alan Sutton Publishing The History Press is a British publishing company specialising in the publication of titles devoted to local and specialist history. It claims to be the United Kingdom's largest independent publisher in this field, publishing approximately 300 ...

, 2000), volume I, page 119. Wilbraham Bootle died on 13 March 1796. His eldest son

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

inherited Lathom House and was created Baron Skelmersdale. Rode Hall passed to his younger son, Randle Wilbraham, father of General Sir

Richard Wilbraham General Sir Richard Wilbraham (12 April 1811 – 30 April 1900) was a British Army officer who became colonel of the Royal Fusiliers (City of London Regiment). Early life He was a son of Randle Bootle-Wilbraham (1773–1861) of Rode Hall and, ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bootle, Richard Wilbraham 1725 births 1796 deaths British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies