William Taylor Copeland
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William Taylor Copeland (1797]–April 12, 1868) was a British businessman and politician who served as Lord Mayor of London and a Member of Parliament.
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[edit] Family and Business
Copeland was the only son of William Copeland, a partner of Josiah Spode in the Stoke Potteries, of Staffordshire and of Portugal Street, London.
In 1826 he married Sarah Yates. Their family included ten children, of whom a daughter and four sons survived. The sons were William Fowler Mountford Copeland (1828–1908), Edward Capper Copeland (1835–1875), Alfred James Copeland (1837–1921), and Richard Pirie Copeland (1841–1913).
Copeland succeeded his father as head of the firm in Portugal Street and eventually bought out the interests of the Spode family in the business in the Potteries and London.
In 1866 Copeland was appointed china and glass manufacturer to the Prince of Wales. He became a director of the London and Birmingham Railway Company. He was also a major investor in Fenton Park Colliery.
[edit] Public Life
Copeland was active in the civic life of the City of London. He was elected alderman for Bishopsgate ward in 1828, served as sheriff of London and Middlesex in 1828–9 and in 1835 he was elected Lord Mayor of London (the third youngest man to hold that office) for 1835-36..
He was a member of the Goldsmiths' Company and its master in 1837-38. For seven years he was president of the royal hospitals of Bridewell and Bethlem, as well as a member of the Irish Society and President of the Honourable Artillery Company.
Copeland was active in Ireland as a Whig politician. He contested the Irish UK parliament constituency of Coleraine at the 1831 and 1832 general elections. On both occasions he lost the initial poll, but was declared duly elected on petition. In the 1835 general election Copeland was re-elected MP for Coleraine, by a majority of five. He sat for the borough until 1837.
Copeland then contested the Stoke-upon-Trent constituency in England, as a Conservative candidate. He sat for that seat between 1837 and 1852 (when he was defeated) and again from 1857 until he retired in 1865.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- British Parliamentary Election Results 1832-1885, compiled and edited by F W S Craig (2nd edition, Aldershot: Parliamentary Research Services, 1989)
- Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland, 1801-1922, edited by B.M. Walker (Royal Irish Academy 1978)
- The Parliaments of England by Henry Stooks Smith (1st edition published in three volumes 1844-50), 2nd edition edited (in one volume) by F.W.S. Craig (Political Reference Publications 1973)
- Who's Who of British Members of Parliament: Volume I 1832-1885, by Michael Stenton (The Harvester Press 1976)
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Sir John William Head Brydges |
Member of Parliament for Coleraine 1831–1832 |
Succeeded by Sir John Poer Beresford, Bt |
| Preceded by Sir John Poer Beresford, Bt |
Member of Parliament for Coleraine 1833–1837 |
Succeeded by Edward Litton |
| Preceded by John Davenport Hon. George Anson |
Member of Parliament for Stoke-upon-Trent with John Davenport 1837-1841 and John Ricardo 1841-1852 1837–1852 |
Succeeded by John Ricardo Hon. Edward Leveson-Gower |
| Preceded by John Ricardo Hon. Edward Leveson-Gower |
Member of Parliament for Stoke-upon-Trent with John Ricardo 1857-1862 and Henry Riversdale Grenfell 1862-1865 1857–1865 |
Succeeded by Henry Riversdale Grenfell Alexander Beresford Hope |
