William Bromley

William Bromley (1663 – 13 February 1732) of Baginton, Warwickshire, was an English Tory politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1690 and 1732. He was Speaker of the House of Commons of Great Britain from 1710 to 1713 and Secretary of State for the Northern Department from 1713 to 1714.

Bromley was a Hanoverian Tory who supported the Hanoverian Succession in 1714.

Early life Bromley was the son of Sir William Bromley (died 1682) of Baginton, and his wife Ursula Leigh, daughter of Thomas Leigh, 1st Baron Leigh of Stoneleigh, Warwickshire. He was born at the family seat at Baginton, Warwickshire, and was baptized on 31 August 1663.

Political career

Bromley missed the Glorious Revolution because he was travelling in France and Italy in 1688, following the death of his first wife in 1688 (he eventually married four times). Upon his return to England he embarked on a political career. Throughout his time in public life Bromley was a staunch high church Tory with a reputation for honesty and extreme partisanship. His political rivals sometimes found it useful to allege Jacobite sympathies and to refer to Bromley's travel memoirs Remarks on the Grand Tour of France and Italy to support that allegation.

At the 1690 English general election Bromley was returned as knight of the shire (MP) for Warwickshire. An able debater, his reputation rose rapidly; particularly amongst the Tory squires who shared similar prejudices. In 1696 Bromley refused to take an oath to swear that William III was the rightful and lawful King. As a result, he was incapacitated from serving in Parliament and was not re-elected for Warwickshire in 1698.

Bromley returned to Parliament for the strongly High Tory constituency of Oxford University, at a by-election in March 1701, after which Bromley was a leading figure in the Tory ranks. He continued to hold one of the university's two seats for the rest of his life.

He remained a strong supporter of Robert Harley, during his impeachment trial from 1715 to 1717.

Family Bromley was married four times: Thomas Bromley (died 1716), of Christ Church, Oxford and the Inner Temple, M.A. at Oxford 1716 William Bromley (died 1737) Elizabeth Bromley (died 1742) Anne Bromley

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