Sir William Langham, MP, 3rd Baronet

Family and Education b. c.1625, 4th but 2nd surv. s. of John Langham, and bro. of Sir James Langham. educ. Emmanuel, Camb. BA 1646; Leyden 1647; Padua 1649, MD by 1652. m. (1) 2 Sept. 1657, Elizabeth (bur. 3 Nov. 1657), da. of Sir Anthony Haslewood of Maidwell, s.p.; (2) 19 June 1659, Alice (d.1664), da. of Sir George Chudleigh, 1st Bt.†, of Ashton, Devon, wid. of John Rolle, merchant, of London, and Widdicombe House, Stokenham, Devon, 2da.; (3) 10 July 1666, aged 40, Martha, da. of Herbert Hay of Glyndebourne, Suss., wid. of David Polhill of Chipstead Place, Kent, 3s. (2 d.v.p.). Kntd. 14 Dec. 1671; suc. bro. as 3rd Bt. 22 Aug. 1699.1

Offices Held Fellow of Peterhouse, Camb. 1646-50. commr. for assessment, Northants. Jan. 1660-1, 1663-80, 1689-90, j.p. July 1660-70, 1675-82, 1689-d., sheriff 1671-2.2

Commr. for preventing export of wool 1689-92.

Biography Langham studied medicine at several universities, qualified at Padua, and took up practice on his return to England. Walgrave, which his father bought in 1655 for £8,630, was settled on him on his marriage. He was removed from the Northamptonshire commission of the peace in 1670, no doubt as an opponent of the Conventicles Act. A country Member like his elder brother, he represented Northampton in the second and third Exclusion Parliaments, but, apart from his appointment to the committee of elections and privileges on 25 Oct. 1680, he left no trace on their records. In February 1683 he was fined £100 for not prosecuting conventicles. He was presented as ill-affected by the Northamptonshire grand jury, and his house was searched for arms. He regained his seat at the general election of 1689, but he was again inactive and seems to have been absent for most of the first session of the Convention. He took no part in the inquiries into the East India Company, though he was one of the four largest investors, with a holding of £18,200. He was named to nine committees in the second session, including those for compensation to such Whig sufferers as Sir Trevor Williams, John Arnold, Edmund Prideaux and the widow and children of Sir Thomas Armstrong. He supported the disabling clause in the bill to restore corporations. Re-elected for Northampton in 1690, he succeeded to the baronetcy in 1699 and died on 29 Sept. 1700. The next member of the family to enter Parliament was his great-grandson, the 7th baronet, who was returned for the county in 1784.3

Ref Volumes: 1660-1690 Authors: E. R. Edwards / John. P. Ferris Notes 1.Vis. Northants. Fams. 218-19. 2. Northants. RO, FH2226. 3. Bridges, Northants. ii. 128; Somers Tracts, viii. 409; R. Morrice, Entering Bk. 1, p. 355; CSP Dom. July-Sept. 1683, p. 300; Add. 22185, f. 14. .

• "LANGHAM, Sir William (c.1625-1700), of Walgrave and Cottesbrooke, Northants.", The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1690-1715, ed. D. Hayton, E. Cruickshanks, S. Handley, 2002
• "William (Sir) Langham", Munk's Roll, Royal College of Physicians of London
• Burke, Bernard, Sir. A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire. London : Harrison 1869. page 659