Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet, of Isell

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Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 2nd Baronet, of Isell (31 October 1664 – November 1704) was an English landowner and politician. He was the son of William Lawson and became baronet in 1688 after his grandfather, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 1st Baronet. He married Elizabeth Preston of Holker in Lancashire, and they had several children: three sons — Wilfrid (the heir), William (died a bachelor), and John (an army officer who was accidentally killed during a review in Dublin) — as well as a daughter Elizabeth, who died after falling from a horse at Castle Howard; a servant’s entangling of her dress supposedly frightened the horse.

Lawson served as High Sheriff of Cumberland in 1689. Although he had inherited the family estate in 1688, he chose to live mostly outside the county. He entered Parliament for Cockermouth as a Court (Tory) supporter. On 1 April 1690 the House of Commons received a petition claiming his return was illegal because he was sheriff at the time, but the matter was never reported on. After losing in 1695, he traveled, spending a month in Ireland in 1697 and visiting France in 1699. In 1702 he stood as a Whig and finished second; however, the Cumberland sheriff disallowed 46 of his votes, leaving him tied with his cousin Gilfrid Lawson, who was returned. Wilfrid petitioned, but no report followed.

An oft-told anecdote says that while in the House of Commons he appeared dressed as a Cumberland laborer, carrying a loaf of bread and a skim-milk cheese to illustrate the burden of taxes on the working class. He was known as the “bright star of the North,” a nickname drawn from the family crest.

Sir Wilfrid died on 11 November 1704. In his will he left about £600 in cash and £800 per year, with legacies for his children and arrangements regarding tithes for the vicar of Isel; he also left £600 to the Crown in recompense of land tax. In April 1705 his widow petitioned the Crown, and in August the Treasury, after a proceeding questioning the codicil’s wording, awarded the £600 to his widow. He was succeeded by his eldest son, Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 3rd Baronet, of Isell.