William Ashe (1647–1713)

William Ashe (17 November 1647 – 22 October 1713), of the Inner Temple and Heytesbury, Wiltshire, was an English politician.

He was born the son of Edward Ashe, of Fenchurch Street, London,^[1] who was MP for Heytesbury from 1640 to 1652, and Elizabeth Jolliffe, a daughter of William Joliffe,^[2] of Leek.^[3] His paternal uncle was John Ashe, MP for Westbury and Somerset.^[4]

He was educated at the Inner Temple, (1652) and St Edmund Hall, Oxford, where he matriculated in 1664.^[1]

He succeeded his father in 1656 to his estates, including the Heytesbury estate in Wiltshire, rebuilding Heytesbury House in c. 1700.^[1]

He was a Member (MP) of the Parliament of England for Heytesbury on 8 October 1668, March 1679, October 1679, 1681, 1685, 1689, 1690, 1695, 1698 and January 1701 and for Wiltshire in December 1701.^[1]

He was also a Commissioner for assessment for Wiltshire from 1673 to 1680, for Kent from 1677 to 1680, and for Kent and Wiltshire from 1689 to 1690, he was a Justice of the Peace from 1689 to his death and a Deputy Lieutenant by 1701, probably to his death.^[1]

He married twice; firstly in 1670, Anne Popham, the daughter of Gen. Alexander Popham of Littlecote, Wiltshire, with whom he had four sons and a daughter, including:^[1]

• Edward Ashe (c. 1673–1748), MP for Heytesbury; he married Frances Luttrell in 1710.^[5]
• William Ashe (b. 1675), a merchant who was also MP for Heytesbury.^[6]
• Alexander Ashe (b. 1677)
• John Ashe (b. 1681)
• Elizabeth Ashe (1682–1768), who married Pierce à Court, also MP for Heytesbury.^[7][8]
• Laetitia Ashe, who married Thomas Penruddocke, son of Thomas Penruddocke, MP for Wilton.^{[citation needed]}

He married, secondly, to Mary (née Rivett), Lady Appleton, the daughter of John Rivett, Skinner, of London and the widow of Sir Henry Appleton, 4th Baronet of South Benfleet, Essex.^[1]

He died in 1713 and was buried at Heytesbury. He was succeeded by his son Edward.^[1]

Through his daughter Elizabeth, he was a grandfather of Pierce Ashe-à Court (c. 1707–1768),^[9] and William Ashe-à Court (c. 1708–1781),^[10] who married Annabella Vernon (a daughter of Thomas Vernon, MP for Whitchurch, and granddaughter of Sir Thomas Vernon).^[11]