Sir William Robinson, 1st Baronet

Who was Sir William Robinson, 1st Baronet?

Sir William Robinson, 1st Baronet, 1st Baronet of Newby-on-Swale, Yorkshire, was an English Member of Parliament and Lord Mayor of York.

Robinson was descended from a wealthy York merchant, also called William Robinson, who had been Lord Mayor of York and its MP during the reign of Elizabeth I. His uncle Metcalfe Robinson had been created a baronet in 1660, but died without issue in 1689, so that the baronetcy became extinct; on 13 February 1690, William was made a baronet to revive the title.

Sir William was MP for Northallerton from 1689 to 1695, and for York from 1698 until 1722. He was also High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1689 and Lord Mayor of York in 1700.

He had five sons and one daughter. His oldest son, Metcalfe, survived him by only four days, the baronetcy then passing to his second son, Tancred, who became a Rear Admiral of the White and was twice Lord Mayor of York. His fourth son, Thomas served as Secretary of State for the Southern Department and Leader of the House of Commons, and was raised to the peerage as Baron Grantham in 1761.