William Francis Spencer Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley (31 July 1787 – 16 May 1855) was an English Whig and Liberal politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1826 and 1837. He was raised to the Peerage in 1838.
Ponsonby was the youngest child of 3rd Earl of Bessborough and his wife Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer.[1]
Ponsonby was elected Member of Parliament for Poole in 1826 and held the seat until 1831.[2] He was then MP for Knaresborough between June and December 1832.[3] At the 1832 UK general election he was elected MP for Dorset and held the seat until 1837.[4] In 1838 he was created Baron de Maulay.
On 8 August 1814, he married Lady Barbara Ashley-Cooper (the only daughter and heir of the 5th Earl of Shaftesbury and a co-heir of the medieval Barony of Mauley) and they had three children:[1]
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Benjamin Lester John Dent |
Member of Parliament for Poole 1826–1831 With: Benjamin Lester 1809-1835 |
Succeeded by Benjamin Lester Sir John Byng |
| Preceded by Hon. Henry Cavendish George Tierney |
Member of Parliament for Knaresborough Jun-Dec 1832 With: Hon. Henry Cavendish 1830–1832 |
Succeeded by John Richards Benjamin Rotch |
| Preceded by Edward Portman Lord Ashley |
Member of Parliament for Dorset 1832–1837 Served alongside: Lord Ashley 1831–1846 William Bankes 1832–35 Henry Sturt 1835–1846 |
Succeeded by Lord Ashley John Fox-Strangways Henry Sturt |
| Peerage of the United Kingdom | ||
| New creation | Baron de Mauley 1838–1855 |
Succeeded by Charles Ponsonby |