William LONGEVILLE [23527]

  General Notes:

Longueville, William (1639-1721), lawyer, was the only son of Sir Thomas Longueville, Knight, of Bradwell Abbey, Buckinghamshire, and his wife, Anne Ashcombe, second daughter and coheir of Sir William Ashcombe of Alvescot, Oxfordshire. He was entered as a student at the Inner Temple in November 1654;

Longueville William: 1639 - 1721. Friend of the poet Samuel Butler [q.v], was the only son of Sir Thomas Longueville, Knight, of Bradwell Abbey, Buckinghamshire, by his wife and, second daughter and co-heiress of Sir William Ashcombe of Alvescott Oxfordshire. The father, a reckless cavalier, spent his substance, and at last fell on his son for support. William was entered as a student of the Inner Temple in November 1654, when through the sale of the paternal estate, he was described as of Alvescott; and on 25 July 1655 he matriculated at Christ's College, Oxford. At the University he did not keep his terms, and on 28 September 1663 he was created M.A. in special congregation.
In 1660 he was called to the bar at the Inner Temple, becoming in turn bencher of his inn 1677, autumn reader 1682, Lent reader 1685, and treasurer 1695. With the aid of a "good-natured six clerk" who took him up he filled the post of a six clerk in chancery from 1660 to 1678. By this means he laid the foundation of a fine estate and revived the fortunes of his family, which were still further augmented by the great wealth he gained through his pre-eminence in conveyancing. He died on 21 March 1720/21, aged 82, and was buried on 30 March in the aisle at the north-east end of Edward the Confessor's Chapel, Westminster Abbey. His wife was Elizabeth, third daughter and co-heiress of Sir Thomas Peyton, second Baron at of Knowlton, Kent. She died 21 January 1715/16, aged 69, and was buried in the north aisle within the tombs of Westminster Abbey. The burial of their son Charles and the marriage of their daughter Elisabeth are ended in Chester's "Registers of Westminster Abbey" page 40, 379. The names of their other children are given in "Lipscomb's Buckinghamshire", iv 415.
Longueville was a friend of the North's, and ranked among Lord-keeper Guildford's "much esteemed friends and companions. His discourse was fluent, witty, literate, copious, and instructive;" he had the best Latin sentences at his tongue's end, but some critics thought that he talked too much.
Such is the account of Roger North, who seems to have obtained his assistance on points of legal difficulty. Farquhar was indebted to him for part of his "Twin Rivals" (Works, 1760, vol. ii). Longueville lived on the East side of Bow Street, Covent Garden, and in his house Samuel Butler was often relieved. He was anxious that the poets remained should be laid in Westminster Abbey, but as he could not find sufficient friends to bear a share of the expense, they were buried "with the greatest privacy, but at the same time very decently", at his own cost, in the churchyard of St Paul, Covent Garden. The literary remains of Butler, which passed into his hands, are in the British Museum Addit, MS 32625, and selections from them were published, with notes by R.Thyer, in two volumes in 1759. Numerous letters from Longueville are in the "Hatton Papers" (MSS29555/86), and many, ranging from 1676 to 1688, are printed in the "Hatton Correspondence" (Camden Soc, 1878), They show Tory politics.
Dictionary of National Biography volumes 1 to 20, 22. (Which includes sources)