Background
He was born in Limerick, into one of the city"s most politically influential families, elder son of the Review Stackpole Pery and Jane Twigge.
He was born in Limerick, into one of the city"s most politically influential families, elder son of the Review Stackpole Pery and Jane Twigge.
In 1783, he stood also for Dungannon, however chose to sit for Limerick City.
On the dissolution of the house following the death of George II, Pery was elected for the constituency of Limerick City and served from 1761 until 1785, becoming Speaker of the House in 1771. Following his resignation, he was created Viscount Pery, of Newtown Pery, near the City of Limerick, in the Peerage of Ireland, entitling him to a seat in the Irish House of Lords. As he had no male heirs, his title became extinct on his death.
Pery is also noted for his part in the history of the architecture of Limerick.
In 1765, he commissioned the engineer Davis Ducart to design a town plan for land that Pery owned on the southern edge of the existing city, which led to the construction of the Georgian area of the city later known as Newtown Pery. He was also commemorated in the naming of Pery Square.
Pery married Patricia Martin of Dublin in 1756, who died a year later, and secondly Elizabeth Vesey, daughter of the 1st Baron Knapton. He and Elizabeth had two daughters:
Honorary
Diana Pery, who married Thomas Knox, 1st Earl of Ranfurly.
Honorary Frances Pery, who married Nicolson Calvert, Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire. William"s son, Edmund, was made Earl of Limerick in 1803 as a result of his support for the Acting of Union.
A trained barrister, Pery became a member of the Irish House of Commons for the Wicklow Borough constituency in 1751.