William Rookes Crompton-Stansfield (3 August 17905 December 1871) of Esholt Hall,

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

, and Frimley Park,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

, was a British landowner and Whig politician who was MP for

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confl ...

, Yorkshire, from 1837 to 1853.

Background

Crompton was born on 3 August 1790. He was the second (but eldest surviving) son of Joshua Crompton (1754–1832) and his wife Anna Maria Rookes (1762–1819), daughter of William Rookes (1719–89) of

Royds Hall Royds Hall Manor is one of the surviving manor houses in the Yorkshire Region. It is a Grade II* listed building situated on an elevation over 700 feet above sea level in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England and was once the residence of the Lor ...

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

. His father, Joshua, was the son of Samuel Crompton (1714–82), a descendant of the

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

banking family of Crompton, and a cousin of the politician Sir Samuel Crompton. William's elder brother, Stansfield Crompton (1788–1801), died at the age of 13 and was buried at Guiseley Parish Church. Crompton's mother, Anna Maria, was the daughter of William Rookes and Annie Stansfield (1729–98). Annie was the daughter of Robert Stansfield (b.1676) of

, Yorkshire, sister of Robert Stansfield (1727–72) who purchased Esholt Hall in 1755, and a descendant of the Stansfeld family of Stansfield and Sowerby,

(and also a cousin of the politicians Sir James Stansfeld, Hamer Stansfeld, and the soldiers

James Rawdon Stansfeld James Rawdon Stansfeld ( ; 11 August 1866 – 14 January 1936) was a British army officer who served as an Instructor and Professor at the Royal Military Academy, Woolwich, and as Deputy Director-General of Inspection in the Ministry of Mun ...

, Thomas Wolryche Stansfeld and John R. E. Stansfeld). In 1832, Crompton assumed the additional surname and arms of Stansfield on inheriting Esholt Hall, near

, Yorkshire, and other estates from his mother.

Career

Crompton was educated at

Harrow School Harrow School () is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school (English boarding school for boys) in Harrow on the Hill, Greater London, England. The school was founded in 1572 by John Lyon (school founder), John Lyon, a local landowner an ...

. He matriculated at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

in 1808, graduating B.A. in 1813, M.A. in 1816. He was admitted to

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 1814, 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 1819. Crompton was elected Whig MP for

at the 1837 general election and held the seat until 1853. In 1839, he built St Paul's Church as a private family chapel at the cost of £800 (since 1983 it has been used in the combined parish of Guiseley with Esholt). He opposed the intrusion of the

Leeds and Bradford Railway The Leeds and Bradford Railway Company (L&BR)The abbreviation L&BR is more commonly seen referring to the London and Birmingham Railway. opened a railway line between the townsLeeds obtained city status in 1893; Bradford became a city in 1897. on ...

as it crossed his

Esholt Esholt is a village and former civil parish in the metropolitan district of the City of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. It is situated east of Shipley town centre, south-west of the A65 in Guiseley, north of Bradford City Centre, and n ...

estate in 1846 and again in 1860 when it the Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway line was proposed, but the line was eventually built by the

Midland Railway The Midland Railway (MR) was a railway company in the United Kingdom from 1844 in rail transport, 1844. The Midland was one of the largest railway companies in Britain in the early 20th century, and the largest employer in Derby, where it had ...

Company. Consequently, he later preferred to live at Frimley Park, Surrey. Crompton-Stansfield's win at the 1852 general election was declared void due to bribery and

treating In law and politics, treating is the act of serving food, drink, and other refreshments to influence people for political gain, often shortly before an election. In various countries, treating is considered a form of corruption, and is illegal ...

which "prevailed to a great extent". It was found, by a

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

Committee, that he was "by his agents, guilty of bribery and treating at the last Election". The Committee discovered that "treating throughout the said Borough during the last Election was general, systematic, and extravagant in its character": between sixty and seventy public-houses (at least) had been opened by his agents, with refreshments provided apparently without limit and paid for without inquiry (with expenses incurred on that account alone amounting to upwards of £1,000). With one exception, however, the only persons who were furnished with orders to provide refreshments were registered Electors, so it was not proved to the Committee that the bribery or treating were committed with Crompton-Stansfield's knowledge and consent. Nevertheless, the Committee considered that a system of treating (like that which appears to have prevailed for some time in Huddersfield) must have had the effect of exercising an influence over the minds of voters "as corrupting and debasing as direct bribery".Hansard
Hansard Report on the Huddersfield Election. Retrieved 4 February 2021 He was later a Deputy Lieutenant of the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

Family

Crompton married, on 17 June 1824, Emma Markham, daughter of William Markham of Becca Hall, Yorkshire, and granddaughter of William Markham (1719–1807),

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

. She was the niece of Frederica, Countess of Mansfield (1774–1860) and a cousin of

William Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield William David Murray, 4th Earl of Mansfield, 3rd Earl of Mansfield, KT, DL (21 February 1806 – 1 August 1898) was a British Conservative politician, known as Lord Stormont between 1806 and 1840. Early life Murray was born at 56 Portland P ...

(1806–98). Crompton-Stansfield died, aged 81, at Frimley Park, Surrey, on 5 December 1871. There were no children from the marriage and Esholt Hall was inherited by his nephew, General William Henry Crompton-Stansfield (1835–88).

Ancestry

References

External links