Assheton Smith, a collateral descendant of the former speaker and chancellor of the exchequer John Smith (d. 1723), continued to sit unopposed for the corporation borough of Andover. Noted by his son’s biographer for his ‘remarkable inflexibility of purpose’ and ‘stern’ manner, he reputedly confessed to being ‘the worst tempered man in England, except his son’ and namesake, upon whom he allegedly inflicted the most ‘unjust corporal punishment’ as a child.
After quarrelling with his partners in the company formed to exploit his slate quarries in 1809, Assheton Smith had assumed sole control in 1820. Six years later the quarries employed 800 men and produced 20,000 tons annually. He died ‘in his 78th year’ in May 1828, leaving his son, by a will of 7 Mar. 1828, properties in Hampshire and Wiltshire, the Ashley estate in Cheshire, 7,000 acres in Caernarvonshire, and £8,000 in trust.