Sir William Middleton, 3rd Baronet (c. 1700–1757) of Belsay Castle, Bolam, Northumberland, was a British landowner 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 ...

for 35 years from 1722 to 1757.

Early life and family

Middleton was the eldest son of Sir John Middleton, 2nd Baronet and his wife Frances Lambert, daughter of John Lambert of Calton, Yorkshire, and grand daughter of the Cromwellian general John Lambert. The Middleton family lived at Belsay in Northumberland from the thirteenth century. Middleton succeeded to the estates and

baronetcy A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

on the death of his father on 17 October 1717. While he was a minor, his chief trustee was the Presbyterian minister at Belsay. He owned a first-rate stud, bred from newly imported Arabian horses, and was a member of the Jockey Club. According to family tradition Middleton ‘was always borrowing money and always in debt’ He married Anne Ettrick, daughter of William Ettrick of Silksworth, county Durham in May 1725.

Career

The Middleton family had represented Northumberland in Parliament since early in the fifteenth century. When Middleton came of age, he was returned unopposed as a Whig Member of Parliament for

Northumberland Northumberland ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North East England, on the Anglo-Scottish border, border with Scotland. It is bordered by the North Sea to the east, Tyne and Wear and County Durham to the south, Cumb ...

at the 1722 general election. As a Presbyterian, he attracted the Presbyterian vote, of which the farmers made up a considerable part. He represented Northumberland for the rest of his life, and usually supported the Government. He was returned unopposed again at the 1727 general election and in a note of dissent, voted against the government on the

Excise Bill The Excise Bill of 1733 was a proposal by the British government of Robert Walpole to impose an excise tax on a variety of products. This would have allowed Excise officers to search private dwellings to look for contraband untaxed goods. The per ...

of 1733. At the 1734 general election, there was a contest at Northumberland at enormous cost to the candidates, and Middleton's fellow candidate, Ralph Jenison, was financially crippled by it. In that parliament Middleton's dissent was expressed by a vote against the place bill of 1740. He was returned unopposed at the 1741 general election. In May 1742 under an opposition bill he was chosen as one of the commissioners of public accounts, but the bill was rejected in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. Middleton went with the Duke of Cumberland when he passed through Northumberland in January 1746 to assume command of the army in Scotland. Although Middleton was a civilian he was made a colonel and placed on the Duke's staff. At the

1747 Events January–March * January 31 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital. * February 11 – King George's War: A combined French and Indian force, commanded by Captain Nicolas Antoine II ...

and

1754 Events January–March * January 28 – Horace Walpole, in a letter to Horace Mann, coins the word ''serendipity''. * February 22 – Expecting an attack by Portuguese-speaking militias in the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plat ...

general elections, he was returned unopposed again for Northumberland. From 1754 was receiving a secret service pension of £800 per annum.

Death and legacy

Whistlejacket, by George Stubbs. Middleton died on 28 September 1757. He and his wife had one daughter and no male heirs. The baronetcy passed to his brother John Lambert Middleton. After his death the entire contents of the house, down to the pots and pans in the kitchen, were sold by auction to pay off his debts. The horses were also sold and

Lord Rockingham Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham (13 May 1730 – 1 July 1782), styled The Honourable Charles Watson-Wentworth before 1739, Viscount Higham between 1739 and 1746, Earl of Malton between 1746 and 1750, and the Marquess of R ...

bought

Whistlejacket ''Whistlejacket'' is an oil painting, oil-on-canvas painting from about 1762 by the British artist George Stubbs showing the Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham, Marquess of Rockingham's racehorse approximately at life-size, rea ...

, one of his best horses.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Middleton, Sir William, 3rd Baronet 1700s births 1757 deaths British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies

303 __NOTOC__ Year 303 ( CCCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. It was known in the Roman Empire as the Year of the Consulship of Diocletian and Maximian (or, less frequently, year 1056 ''Ab urbe condita''). The deno ...