William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett Burdett-Coutts (20 January 1851 – 28 July 1921), born William Lehman Ashmead-Bartlett, was an American-born British Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1885 to 1921.
Life
"The Baroness Husband", caricature by Spy published in Vanity Fair in 1881
He owned the Columbia Market (built in 1869 by Baroness Burdett-Coutts), and in connection with this, he built up a large fishing fleet in the North Sea, and a considerable trade in vegetables.[1] However, a proposed railway to the market was never built, and competition from Billingsgate Fish Market led to the closing of the market in 1886.
In 1877, he was Special Commissioner to Turkey (along with Sir Francis de Winton) to administer the Turkish Compassionate Fund. This had been initiated by the combined efforts of Baroness Burdett-Coutts, the Ambassador at Constantinople Sir Henry Layard, and his wife, for the relief of victims of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–78).[2] In recognition of his work, he received the Collar and Star of the Order of the Medjidie from SultanAbdul Hamid II. In 1879–80, he visited Ireland to assist in organising relief in the distressed districts and largely developed Baroness Burdett-Coutts' scheme for benefiting the Irish fisheries. He married the baroness, who was 37 years older than he was, on 12 February 1881 and took her surname.[3] In 1883, he was on the Executive Committee of the International Fisheries Exhibition. He was chairman of the Highgate Committee for enlarging Hampstead Heath.[1]
The Baroness died in 1906 and there were no children of the marriage. He was the executor and beneficiary of her will, and carried on much of her philanthropic work after her death.[3]
Burdett-Coutts died aged 70, in St Pancras, London, while in office, and a by-election was held to replace him.
^Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 59. ISBN0-900178-26-4.
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