Sir William Morice, 3rd Baronet (c. 1707 – 24 January 1750) of Werrington Park (then in Devon but now in Cornwall) was an English Tory 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 ...

from 1727 to 1750.

Biography

Morice was the only son of

Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet Sir Nicholas Morice, 2nd Baronet (1681–27 January 1726) of Werrington Park (then in Devon but now in Cornwall) was an English politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons from 1702 to 1726. Early life Morice was the eldes ...

and his wife Lady Catherine Herbert, the daughter of

Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke Thomas Herbert, 8th Earl of Pembroke ( 165622 January 1733), styled The Honourable Thomas Herbert until 1683, was a British statesman who served as Lord Privy Seal from 1692 to 1699. Background Herbert was the third son of Philip Herbert, 5 ...

. He was educated at Salisbury School, and matriculated at

Corpus Christi College, Oxford Corpus Christi College (formally, Corpus Christi College in the University of Oxford; informally abbreviated as Corpus or CCC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1517 by Richard Fo ...

on 24 August 1724, aged 17. In 1726 he succeeded his father to the

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 ...

and Werrington. Morice was returned unopposed as Member of Parliament (MP) for Newport 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 was sometime Recorder of Launceston and 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 ...

he was returned in a contest as MP for Launceston. He contributed to the election fund raised by the Cornish Tories in 1741 and was returned unopposed for Launceston 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 ...

. He voted regularly with the Opposition with the exception of the vote on the Bossiney election petition in December that year when he voted with the Government. As an injured husband himself, he was persuaded in this case by Lord Abergavenny whose wife had been seduced by one of the opposition candidates, Richard Liddell. In 1744 Morice came into conflict with the Duke of Bedford over hunting rights near Werrington. He was returned unopposed again at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th 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 Hen ...

. Bedford purchased an estate at Newport, and in 1748 began unsuccessfully to attack Morice in his boroughs. Morice married Lady Lucy Wharton, the daughter of

Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton Thomas Wharton, 1st Marquess of Wharton, Privy Council of England, PC (August 1648 – 12 April 1715) was an English peer and Whigs (British political party), Whig politician. A man of great charm and political ability, he was also notoriou ...

, on 8 September 1731.''The Register of Marriages in the Parish of St James within the Liberty of Westminster. 1723-1754''. 8 September 1731. They were divorced in 1738 and he married secondly in 1741, Anna Bury, the daughter of Thomas Bury of Berrynarbor, Devon. He died on 17 January 1750 without issue and the baronetcy became extinct. Werrington was sold in 1775 to

Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland Hugh Percy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, (6 June 1786) was an English peer, politician, and landowner. Origins Hugh Smithson was born , the son of Langdale Smithson (b. 1682) of Langdale, and Philadelphia Reveley. He was a grandson of Sir Hu ...

References

1700s births 1750 deaths Morice, William, 3rd Baronet Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1727–1734 British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub