William Cotesworth of Gateshead

William Cotesworth of Gateshead (1668 – 1726) was an English merchant and government official who served as sheriff of Northumberland.

Based in Newcastle, Cotesworth was the son of a yeoman. He was a cousin of London politician William Cotesworth.[1] As a young man, Cotesworth was apprenticed to a tallow candle maker.

As a merchant, Cotesworth collected tallow in England and sold it internationally. He imported dyes from Southeast Asia, as well as flax, wine, and grain from other regions . Cotesworth sold tea, sugar, chocolate, and tobacco, operated the largest coal mines in the area, and was a leading salt producer.

Over time, Cotesworth became the English government's principal agent in Northern England, being in contact with leading royal ministers.[2] [1] He became an esquire, having served as mayor, justice of the peace and sheriff of Northumberland.

Notes
  1. Ellis, 1976.
  2. E. N. Williams, "'Our Merchants Are Princes': The English Middle Classes in the Eighteenth Century " History Today (Aug 1962) 12#8 pp 548-557 at p 549.

Further reading
  • Ellis, Joyce. "A bold adventurer: the business fortunes of William Cotesworth, c. 1668-1726." Northern History 17.1 (1981): 117–132.
  • Ellis, Joyce. "The Poisoning of William Cotesworth, 1725." History Today (Nov 1978), 28#11, pp 752–757.
  • Ellis, Joyce M. "A study of the business fortunes of William Cotesworth, c. 1668-1726". (PhD Diss. University of Oxford, 1976) online
  • Outhwaite, R. B. "Merchants and Gentry in North-East England, 1650-1830: The Carrs and the Ellisons." English Historical Review 115.462 (2000): 729-729.
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