William Rouse-Boughton

He was the only son and heir of Sir Charles Rouse Boughton, 1st and 9th Baronet (d.1821) by his wife Catherine Pearce Hall.

He is said to have attended Westminster School from 1803 to 1805, but the records are not clear. He attended Christ Church, Oxford after which for several years he enjoyed a European Grand Tour until 1813. In 1818 he was nominated as Member of Parliament for the rotten borough of Evesham, which seat his father had held, but was ousted on petition by Sir Charles Cockerell. His political leanings were far from clear and in his address of thanks, he described himself as "unbiased by any political party of connexion". He regained his seat in 1820 and he remained MP for Evesham until 1825. His opposition leanings became apparent once in office. He inherited the two baronetcies after his father's death in 1821.

On 24 March 1824 he married Charlotte Knight (1800–1842), a renowned horticulturalist, the daughter and heiress of the horticulturalist Thomas Knight by his wife, a member of the Fenton family known as the celebrated Grecian "Miss Fenton". Thomas Knight had inherited Downton Hall near Ludlow from his brother the art connoisseur Payne Knight (d.1824), MP,[1] and thus it passed to the Rouse-Boughton family. By his wife he had two sons and two daughters.

• Knight v Knight (1840) 3 Beav 148

• R G Thorne History of Parliament:The Commons - 1790-1820, HMSO
• Castlereagh Correspondence ix.11

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Sir William Rouse Boughton