William Howell Ewin (1731?–1804), was a

usurer Usury () is the practice of making loans that are seen as unfairly enriching the lender. The term may be used in a moral sense—condemning taking advantage of others' misfortunes—or in a legal sense, where an interest rate is charged in ex ...

. He was the son of Thomas Ewin, formerly a grocer, and latterly a brewer in partnership with one Sparks of St. Sepulchre's, Cambridge, by a daughter of a

coal merchant A coal merchant is the term used in the UK and other countries for a trader who sells coal and often delivers it to households. Coal merchants were once a major class of local business, but have declined in importance in many parts of the developed ...

named Howell of St. Clement's in the same town.

Education and early career

He was educated at

St John's College, Cambridge St John's College, formally the College of St John the Evangelist in the University of Cambridge, is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge, founded by the House of Tudor, Tudor matriarch L ...

, taking the degrees of B.A. 1753, M.A. 1756, and LL.D. 11 June 1766. He is said to have received a diploma of LL.D. from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in or about 1778, but his name does not occur in the ''Catalogue of Graduates'', 1858. On the death of his father he inherited his share of the brewing business and a handsome fortune, which he largely increased by private usury. He was placed on the Commission of the Peace for the town and county of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

. In 1769 he joined his old college tutor, Dr. William Samuel Powell, in opposing the act for better paving, lighting, and watching the town, by which the design was hindered for a time. William Cole wrote: :"Being much of his father's turn, busy and meddling in other people's concerns, got the ill will of most persons in the town and university. …The gownsmen bore him a particular grudge for interfering much in their affairs. … They often broke the doctor's windows, as they said he had been caught listening on their staircases and doors. … Dr. Ewin, as did his father, squinted very much, hence his nickname of "Dr. Squintum"

The "usurious affair"

In January 1777 a report was current at Cambridge that he had been detected in lending money at an enormous interest in 1775 and 1776 to a scholar of

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

named William Bird, then a minor, and without a father, whom he had also caused to be imprisoned in a sponging-house. The sum advanced was £750, for which he took notes to the amount of £1,090. This "usurious affair", as Cole terms it, came to light at a very unlucky time, for he had been promised the chancellorship of the

Diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bisho ...

, which fell vacant in the following May. Eighteen months, however, were allowed to elapse before the university took action. The trial came on in the Vice-Chancellor's court 14 October 1778, when Ewin made but a sorry defence. On 21 October, he was sentenced to be suspended from all degrees taken, or to be taken, and expelled from the university. The delegates on his appeal confirmed the suspension, but revoked the expulsion. He thereupon applied to the court of king's bench for a

mandamus A writ of (; ) is a judicial remedy in the English and American common law system consisting of a court order that commands a government official or entity to perform an act it is legally required to perform as part of its official duties, o ...

to restore him to his degrees. The court after full argument awarded the writ in June 1779, on the ground that there being no express statute of the university forbidding usury or the lending of money to minors, the Vice-Chancellor's court had no jurisdiction in the case.

Lord Mansfield William Murray, 1st Earl of Mansfield, (2 March 1705 – 20 March 1793), was a British judge, politician, lawyer, and peer best known for his reforms to English law. Born in Scone Palace, Perthshire, to a family of Peerage of Scotland, Scott ...

, however, censured Ewin's conduct in the strongest terms, stigmatised him as "a corrupter of youth and an usurer", and suggested that a statute to meet such cases in future should be passed, and that he might be struck out of the Commission of the Peace. On 20 October 1779 he was restored to his degree of LL.D., but was put out of the county commission in 1781.

Later career

Eventually he fixed himself at

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West (London sub region), West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the River Thames, Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has dive ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

, where "his strict attention to the administration of parochial concerns, quick to discern and severe to condemn every species of idleness and imposition, created him many enemies, particularly among the lower orders of people" (Gent. Mag. vol. lxxiv. pt. ii. p. 1174). He died at Brentford Butts on 29 Dec. 1804, aged 73, and was buried in the chapel of New Brentford, where a monument by Flaxman records his many virtues ( Lysons, Environs of London, Supplement, p. 103). He was supposed to have left property amounting to over £100,000.

Portraits

No portrait of Ewin is known to be extant, but there is a print dated 1773 representing Mr. Stanley, grandson of the

Earl of Derby Earl of Derby ( ) is a title in the Peerage of England. The title was first adopted by Robert de Ferrers, 1st Earl of Derby, under a creation of 1139. It continued with the Ferrers family until the 6th Earl forfeited his property toward the en ...

, spitting in his face, for which affront the doctor prosecuted him. He was the subject of many effusions of undergraduate hate in both Latin and English, some of which were printed and hawked by ballad mongers about the town. Two are given by Cole.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ewin, William Howell 1730s births 1804 deaths Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge