William John Bankes

Who was William John Bankes?

William John Bankes, the second, but first surviving son of Henry Bankes, was a notable explorer, Egyptologist and adventurer. He was a member of the Bankes family of Dorset and he had Sir Charles Barry recase Kingston Lacy in stone as it is today. He travelled extensively to the Near East and Egypt and made an extensive individual collection of Egyptian artifacts. His work on Egypt although not acknowledged until recently is vastly important. He was a good friend of Lord Byron, Samuel Rogers and Sir Charles Barry. He also served as Tory Member of Parliament for Truro in 1810, for Cambridge University from 1822 to 1826, for Marlborough from 1829 to 1832 [the UK parliamentary constituency that his maternal grandfather, William Woodley, for whom he was named, had held from 1780 to 1784] and finally for Dorset from 1832 to 1835.