Name William Aislabie Died 1781 | Role John Aislabie\'s son Parents John Aislabie | |
William Aislabie (1700 – 17 May 1781) was the son of John Aislabie and like his father an English Tory politician.
He was first elected as Member of Parliament for Ripon on 17 May 1721 and served continuously until his death in 1781, a period of 60 years 47 days, reaching the position of Father of the House of Commons in 1768. His last recorded speech in the House, on the Duke of Bridgewater's Canals Bill, was made in 1770, he last voted in 1773, and in 1779, The Public Ledger journal commented: "His age and infirmities do not allow him to attend."
His record for longest unbroken service at the Commons was only surpassed more than 100 years after his death by the record 63 years achieved by Charles Pelham Villiers at Wolverhampton.
In the immediate aftermath of his father's disgrace for his connection with the South Sea Bubble, Aislabie's brother John Aislabie Jr. had served as a member of Parliament from Ripon. William Aislabie actually directly succeeded his uncle of the same name as a MP for Ripon. Part of the time he was MP for Ripon the other MP (in the then two-member seat) was his cousin, also named William Aislabie. In 1738 Aislabie was also appointed one of the Auditors of the Impress, and from 1749 until his death was registrar of the consistory court of the Diocese of York.
Aislabie married firstly, in about 1722, Lady Elizabeth Cecil (1706–1733) the daughter of the 6th Earl of Exeter, with whom he had two sons and two daughters, and secondly, on 6 September 1745, Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Charles Vernon of Farnham, Surrey, with whom he had one son and one daughter. None of his sons survived him.
On his father's death in 1742 he inherited the Studley estate and in 1768 he purchased the Fountains estate for £16,000.
Aislabie also spent large amounts of energy developing gardens on his various estates.