Sir William Benyon | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament forBuckingham | |
| In office 18 June 1970 – 13 May 1983 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Maxwell |
| Succeeded by | George Walden |
| Member of Parliament forMilton Keynes | |
| In office 9 June 1983 – 16 March 1992 | |
| Preceded by | New constituency |
| Succeeded by | Constituency abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | William Richard Shelley (1930-01-17)17 January 1930 |
| Died | 2 May 2014(2014-05-02) (aged 84) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Conservative |
| Children | 5, includingRichard |
Sir William Richard BenyonDL (néShelley; 17 January 1930 – 2 May 2014) was a BritishConservative Party politician,Berkshire landowner andhigh sheriff.[1]
Benyon was the eldest of four sons of Vice-Admiral Richard Shelley (1892–1968) and his wife, Eve Alice Gascoyne-Cecil, daughter of the Right ReverendLord (Rupert Ernest) William Gascoyne-Cecil,Bishop of Exeter. William's father, Richard (son of Lieutenant-Colonel Sir JohnShelley, 9th Bt., by Marion Emma Benyon, daughter of Richard Fellowes Benyon),[2] changed his (and William's)[3] surname from Shelley to Benyon in 1964 (by deed poll) after inheriting theEnglefield estate from his second cousin, SirHenry Benyon, 1st Bt., in 1959. The change of surname was confirmed in 1967 by Royal Licence.[4]
Benyon joined theRoyal Navy in 1943 (aged 13) and attendedBritannia Royal Naval College, Dartmouth.[citation needed] He retired from the Navy as aLieutenant in 1956 and became a member ofThe Castaways' Club soon thereafter. He was withCourtaulds Ltd until 1967.
Benyon joined theConservative Monday Club prior to 1970, when he was elected as Member of Parliament forBuckingham at the1970 general election, defeating the incumbentRobert Maxwell, and retained his seat at the next three elections. At the1983 general election he stood instead in the newMilton Keynes constituency, where he was re-elected until he retired at the1992 general election. Due to its increased population, the Milton Keynes seat was then divided into two new constituencies:Milton Keynes North East andMilton Keynes South West. This was the only division of a constituency at the 1992 general election.
Benyon never held government office, but wasPPS toPaul Channon 1972–74 when he was Minister for Housing, then was an Opposition whip from 1974 to 1976. He served as a member of theUniversity of Reading Council from 1967 to 2002, was a member ofBerkshire County Council from 1964 to 1974, aDeputy Lieutenant from 1970, a Berkshire JP 1962–77, ViceLord Lieutenant for Berkshire from 1994 (the year he wasknighted), andHigh Sheriff of Berkshire in 1995. He was chairman of thePeabody Trust, 1992–1998, and of theErnest Cook Trust from 1992. He was a member ofBoodle's,Pratt's andBeefsteak London clubs.[5] He lived at Englefield House until the last few years of his life and was a director of the Englefield Charitable Trust. He died on 2 May 2014, at age 84.
In May 1993, Benyon was awarded an honorary degree by theOpen University as Doctor of the University.[6]
Benyon married Elizabeth Hallifax in 1957. They had two sons, three daughters and 18 grandchildren, who all survived him. His elder son,Richard Benyon, was theConservativeMP forNewbury from 2005 to 2019. His daughter, Mary, wife ofTom Riall, was appointed High Sheriff of Berkshire in April 2020.
| Sir William Benyon, Kt (1994), DL (1970) | Vice-Admiral Richard Shelley, CB, CBE(recte Benyon, 1964) (1892–1968) High Sheriff Bucks, 1958. (Succeeded his second cousin of SirHenry Benyon, 1st & last Bt.) | Sir John Shelley, 9th Bt., TD, DL, JP (1848–1931) | Rev.Sir Frederic Shelley, 8th Baronet(1809–1869) Descended fromSir William Shelley, Kt, MP, JP, (1478/9-1549), a lawyer, of Michelgrove,Patching,Clapham, Worthing, West Sussex, and related torecusantsSir Richard Shelley andRichard Shelley[7] |
Charlotte Martha Hippisley(d.1893) Daughter of the Rev. Henry Hippisley, ofLamborne Place andSparsholt, Berks, by Anne daughter of Lock Rollinson ofChadlington.[8][9] | |||
Marion Emma Benyon (d.1948) First cousin ofJames Herbert Benyon | Richard Fellowes, MP, (recte Benyon, 1854)(1811–1897) Son ofWilliam Henry Fellowes, MP, by Emma, daughter of Richard Benyon ofGidea Hall. Inherited most of the estates of his uncleRichard Benyon De Beauvoir, MP, DL, JP, ofEnglefield,De Beauvoir Town, theNew River Company,Cranham Hall, North and SouthOckendon (Essex),Newbury Park (Essex),Culford (Suffolk), andDownham (Essex). Distant kinsman of founder of Georgia,James Oglethorpe[10] | ||
Elizabeth Mary Clutterbuck(1833–?) Granddaughter ofRobert Clutterbuck (1772–1831), JP, DL, FSA, of Watford. Her sister marriedWilliam George Mount, MP | |||
Eve Alice Gascoyne-Cecil (1900–1994) | Rt. Rev.Lord William Cecil, Bishop of Exeter (1863–1936) | Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury, KG, GCVO, PC (1830–1903). Prime Minister | |
Georgina Alderson(1827–1899) Daughter of Baron of the Exchequer and judge, SirEdward Hall Alderson | |||
Lady Florence Mary Bootle-Wilbraham (d.1944) | Edward Bootle-Wilbraham, 1st Earl of Lathom, GCB, PC (1837–1898) | ||
Lady Alice Villiers(c.1841–1897) Daughter ofGeorge Villiers, 4th Earl of Clarendon, KG, GCB, PC, Foreign Secretary & Lord Privy Seal |
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forBuckingham 1970–1983 | Succeeded by |
| New constituency | Member of Parliament forMilton Keynes 1983–1992 | Succeeded by Constituency abolished |