William Blamire

William Blamire was a British Cumberland gentleman farmer, and Whig politician.

Background and education

Blamire was born at Listed [buildings in Dalston, Cumbria#The Oaks|The Oaks], Dalston, Carlisle, England, to a family that originated in Cumberland. He was the eldest son of the naval surgeon William Blamire, and Jane, who was the third daughter of John Christian and the sister of the politician John Christian. The Cumberland poet Susanna Blamire was his aunt. William was baptised in Dalston by the philosopher William Paley, who was the vicar there.
He was privately tutored at Carlisle, and educated subsequently, from 1805 to 1808, at Westminster School, and, from 1808 to 1811, at Christ Church, Oxford, from which he graduated in 1811.

Career

Blamire was a Cumberland gentleman farmer who served as High Sheriff of Cumberland in 1828. He entered the British [House of Commons] in 1831 as MP for Cumberland, as which he served until the constituency was abolished the following year, after which he stood successfully for the new constituency that replaced it, East Cumberland. Blamire resigned as Member of Parliament in 1836, when, after the passing of the Tithe [Commutation Act 1836] he was appointed the first Chief Tithe Commissioner. The Commission reported in 1851 and triggered various new acts and reforms. Blamire retired in 1860.

Family

In 1834, Blamire married his cousin Dorothy. She was the youngest daughter of John Taubman and the widow of Mark Wilks who had governed Saint Helena during the time of Napoleon's exile there. She died in 1857: and he survived her, for five years, until 1862. Several months after his death, a prize in his name was established for achievements in agriculture.