William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry

Who was William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry?

William Coventry, 5th Earl of Coventry PC, known as William Coventry until 1719, was a British politician.

Coventry was the son of Walter Coventry and his wife Anne. His grandfather Walter Coventry was the youngest brother of Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry. He was elected to the House of Commons for Bridport in 1708, a seat he held until 1719, and served as Joint Clerk Comptroller of the Board of Green Cloth from 1717 to 1719. The latter year he succeeded his second cousin once removed as fifth Earl of Coventry and entered the House of Lords. In 1720 he was admitted to the Privy Council and appointed Lord Lieutenant of Worcestershire, a post he retained until his death.

Lord Coventry married Elizabeth, daughter of John Allen. She died in 1738. Coventry survived her by thirteen years and died in March 1751. His eldest son Thomas Henry Coventry, Viscount Deerhurst, predeceased him and he was succeeded by his second but eldest surviving son George.