Charles Callis Western, 1st Baron Western (9 August 1767 – 4 November 1844), was a British landowner and Whig politician. He sat in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...

for over forty years before his elevation to the

peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

in 1833.

Background and education

Born at the family seat of Rivenhall Place in

Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and G ...

,rivenhall.org.uk A short history of the Western family
Western was the son of Charles Western and Frances Shirley, daughter and heiress of William Bolland. His father was killed in a chaise accident when Western was four-years-old, in which he was also present.
/ref> He was educated at Newcombe's School in Hackney,

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Queens' College, Cambridge Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...

. When coming of age in 1788, he inherited Rivenhall Place, which had been in the Western family since the second half of the 17th century and commissioned

Humphrey Repton Humphry Repton (21 April 1752 – 24 March 1818) was the last great English landscape designer of the eighteenth century, often regarded as the successor to Capability Brown; he also sowed the seeds of the more intricate and eclectic styles of ...

to give the Tudor house a new facade. However, two years later he left Rivenhall to his uncle and purchased Felix Hall in

Kelvedon Kelvedon is a village and civil parish in the Braintree District of Essex in England, between Chelmsford and Colchester. It had a population of 4,717 in 2001, reducing to 3,587 at the 2011 Census. It is now home to several businesses including ...

Political career

Western was returned to parliament as one of two representatives for

Maldon Maldon (, locally ) is a town and civil parish on the River Blackwater, Essex, Blackwater estuary in Essex, England. It is the seat of the Maldon District and starting point of the Chelmer and Blackwater Navigation. It is known for Maldon Sea ...

in 1790, a seat he held until 1806, when he was defeated by Benjamin Gaskell. However, Gaskell was unseated on petition the following year and Western was elected in his place. He continued to represent the constituency until 1812. The latter year he was returned for

, a seat he held until the constituency was abolished in the

Great Reform Act of 1832 The Representation of the People Act 1832 (also known as the 1832 Reform Act, Great Reform Act or First Reform Act) was an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom (indexed as 2 & 3 Will. IV c. 45) that introduced major changes to the electo ...

. In parliament he was a supporter of agricultural and electoral reform. He lost his seat at the 1832 general election but the following year he was elevated to the peerage as Baron Western, of Rivenhall in the County of Essex.

Personal life

Lord Western never married and the title became extinct on his death at Felix Hall in November 1844, aged 77. He entailed his estates to his cousin Thomas Western, who was created a Baronet of Rivenhall in 1864.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Western 1767 births 1844 deaths Barons in the Peerage of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies UK MPs 1801–1802 UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs 1807–1812 UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at Newcome's School People from Braintree District Members of Parliament for Maldon Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV