William Roupell

William Roupell (7 April 1831 – 25 March 1909) was Liberal Party Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom for Lambeth from 1857 until his resignation on 4 February 1862. A forger and a fraudster, he was ruined in the Roupell case.

William was the illegitimate son of Richard Palmer Roupell (1782–1856), scrap-metal dealer and property developer, and Sarah Crane (1796–1878), daughter of Thomas, a carpenter. William had an elder brother, John, and two younger sisters. In 1838, following the deaths of Richard Palmer's parents, the couple married. Richard Palmer and Sarah had one legitimate child, Richard (1840–1883).

Richard Palmer amassed considerable wealth in property, especially that he sold to the emerging railway network and William became interested in the business. William was articled a lawyer's clerk at Haslam & Rees from 1849 to 1854 though he made only one appearance, for his father, in court once qualified. William assisted his father in the property business but felt the allowance he received to be inadequate. By this time, he had come to suspect his illegitimacy and, rightly, that his father's will was made in favour of Richard. William was intent on establishing himself in fashionable society and spent freely to realise his aim. By 1853, he was already £1,000 in debt and as early as 1850 he had already fraudulently mortgaged one of his father's properties at Norbiton Farm to raise funds.

In September 1853, William forged a deed of gift from his mother of Roupell Park, again fraudulently mortgaging the property. He had represented himself the agent of an investor to gain access to the deeds and now found rents from the property paid into his hands. In 1855, his finances not improving, he again represented himself as agent in a land purchase to defraud funds from his father. Further frauds and forgeries followed, including a property at Warley, until William had expropriated some £100,000.

Richard Palmer died on 5 September 1856 and William took the opportunity to destroy the will made in favour of Richard and to forge an alternative in favour of his mother. He was now certain of his illegitimacy. Probate was granted on the forged will on 24 September and William now found access to funds through his mother straightforward.

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