William Russell (9 November 1798 – 30 January 1850)[1] of Brancepeth Castle in County Durham was a British Whig[2] politician.
[1][4] He resigned the Bletchingley seat in 1827 (by taking the Chiltern Hundreds) to stand at a by-election for County Durham.
The Marquess of Londonderry had a political reason — his man Sir Henry Hardinge was at that moment unavailable — for stepping aside as a backer of another candidate.
Charles Tennyson, his uncle, ran his campaign in the constituency, with Robert William Mills, his steward.
[8] The elder William Russell was admitted to the Grand Allies coal cartel, in the final quarter of the 18th century.