William Lambton

William was a descendant of the Lambton family which had a reputation as one of the wealthiest commoner families in the 18th century England. The main source of the family fortune was estate in northeast Durham, centered on Lambton Hall on the north bank of the Wear which was a coal-mining property. William served as Member of Parliament and inherited an annual income of around £35,000 a year after his father’s death. Being in poor health, William went to Italy in 1796 to recover but he died a year later of consumption while staying at Pisa. At time of his death, his fortune was estimated around £1m or £4.9bn in today’s term.