William Lehman Ashmead Bartlett Burdett-Coutts PC (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.

Ashmead-Bartlett was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States, the son of Ellis Bartlett of Plymouth, New England, U.S.A. and his wife Sophia Ashmead, daughter of John King Ashmead of Philadelphia. All his grandparents were British subjects and he was the younger brother of Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett. After his father's death in 1852 the family moved to England, and he was educated at Torquay and at Cholmeley School Highgate. He entered Keble College, Oxford in 1870. He owned the Columbia Market, and in connection with this, he built up a large fishing fleet in the North Sea, and a considerable trade in vegetables.^[1]

Ashmead-Bartlett was secretary to the philanthropist Baroness Burdett-Coutts. In 1877, he was Special Commissioner to Turkey to administer the Turkish Compassionate Fund, which had been initiated by the Baroness Burdett-Coutts, and received the Collar and Star of the Medjidieh from the Sultan. In 1879-80, he visited Ireland to assist in organising relief in the distressed districts and largely developed Baroness Burdett's scheme for benefiting the Irish fisheries. He married the baroness, who was 37 years older than him, on 12 February 1881 and took her surname. In 1883, he was on Executive Committee of the International Fisheries Exhibition. He was chairman of the Highgate Committee for enlarging Hampstead Heath.^[1]

William Burdett-Coutts was first elected to Parliament in the 1885 general election for the London constituency of Westminster, which had become a one-seat constituency from a two-seat one. He remained the seat's MP until it was abolished in the 1918 general election, when he was elected for the new Westminster Abbey constituency.^[2] He was appointed to the Privy Council in the 1921 New Year's Honours List.

The Baroness died in 1906 and there were no children of the marriage.

Burdett-Coutts died aged 70, in St Pancras, London, while in office, and a by-election was held to replace him.

[edit] References

• Obituary, The Times, 29 July 1921