BENSON, Willliam

Shaftsbury Election: to be further Heard, May 3. 1715. A Particular of Mr. Benson's Estate at Bromley in Middlesex, whereby he makes out his Qualification, in answer to the Exceptions of the Sitting Members

London: 1715. Broadsheet, 13 1/2 x 10 inches. [1]p. plus printed docket title on verso. Disbound. Early folds and early stab holes in left margin. Small portion of inner margin excised, with no loss to text. Small stain, affecting one character of text, toning at upper edge.

An interesting assessment of a country squire's income.

An unrecorded document lobbying Parliament in support of the election of William Benson as MP for Shaftesbury, disclosing the ownership history and financial information on his family estates in Middlesex. William Benson (1682-1754) was a prominent early Whig political writer, politician, amateur architect, and patron of the arts. This broadsheet refers to the election by which Benson would first enter Parliament, by petition, in 1716. In 1718, Benson vacated the seat to replace Christopher Wren as Surveyor General of the Royal Works. He was relieved of that position the following year, after a humiliating incident in which he condemned the chamber of the House of Lords, incorrectly declaring that it was in imminent danger of collapse. An early example of lobbying literature, which first began proliferating in the lobby of the House of Commons at the time of the accession of King George I and the British general election of 1715. No copies recorded by ESTC or OCLC.

DNB II, p.261.

Item #21159

Price: $625.00