Edward Davies Davenport of

Capesthorne Hall Capesthorne Hall is a country house near the village of Siddington, Cheshire, England. The house and its private chapel were built in the early 18th century, replacing an earlier hall and chapel nearby. They were built to Neoclassical d ...

(27 April 1778 – 9 September 1847) was a British landowner,

High Sheriff of Cheshire This is a list of Sheriffs (and after 1 April 1974, High Sheriffs) of Cheshire. The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most ...

and

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

for

Shaftesbury Shaftesbury () is a town and civil parish in Dorset, England. It is situated on the A30 road, west of Salisbury, near the border with Wiltshire. It is the only significant hilltop settlement in Dorset, being built about above sea level on a ...

Early life

Davenport was born the son of

Davies Davenport Davies Davenport of Capesthorne Hall and Court Garden, Marlow (29 August 1757 — 5 February 1837) was a politician, soldier and landowner who served as Member of Parliament for Cheshire and High Sheriff of Cheshire. Early life Davenport was b ...

and

Court Garden, Marlow Court Garden in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, England, is a Grade II* listed building on the National Heritage List for England. It was built as a house in about 1758 by Dr William Battie, an eminent physician. It was sold in 1776 to Richard Davenport ...

and his wife, Charlotte, daughter of Ralph Sneyd of

Keele Hall Keele Hall is a 19th-century mansion house at Keele, Staffordshire, England, now standing on the campus of Keele University and serving as the university conference centre. It is a Grade II* listed building. History Early history The manor of Ke ...

and Barbara Bagot, daughter of

Sir Walter Bagot, 5th Baronet Sir Walter Wagstaffe Bagot, 5th Baronet (3 August 1702 – 20 January 1768) of Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire was an English Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1724 and 1768. Early life Bagot was the eldest surviving son of ...

. He was educated at Dr. Gretton’s School in

Hitcham, Buckinghamshire Hitcham was a village in Buckinghamshire, England. Today it is indistinguishable from the extended village of Burnham (where the 2011 Census was included) and is no longer marked on Ordnance Survey 1:50000 maps as a separate settlement. It is to t ...

, which he completed in 1789 followed by

Rugby School Rugby School is a public school (English independent boarding school for pupils aged 13–18) in Rugby, Warwickshire, England. Founded in 1567 as a free grammar school for local boys, it is one of the oldest independent schools in Britain. Up ...

which he left in 1794 and finally

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

which he matriculated from in 1797.

Military career

Davenport entered the 16th The Queen's Lancers as a

Cornet The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B, though there is also a sopr ...

in 1799 following graduation from

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

at 21. Due to gambling debts he then transferred to the

Grenadier Guards "Shamed be whoever thinks ill of it." , colors = , colors_label = , march = Slow: " Scipio" , mascot = , equipment = , equipment ...

as a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

, serving in Southern Italy and was promoted to

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

in 1804, following which in 1807 he resigned his commission, giving poor health and lack of intellectual conversation as his reasons for leaving to his father. Although his resignation from the Army was on the condition that he promised not to accrue any further gambling debts, he was soon in debt again and complained to his father of his lack of ability to pay them off, however, this was eased when his father transferred to him the family Calvely estates on the advice of his mother, Charlotte Sneyd.

Political career

Although he did not enter politics until some twenty years later, Davenport did convince his father,

to run as

for

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...

as an independent candidate in the

1806 United Kingdom general election The 1806 United Kingdom general election was the election of members to the 3rd Parliament of the United Kingdom. This was the second general election to be held after the Acts of Union 1800, Union of Great Britain and Ireland. The general elec ...

. As well as which, following his resignation from the army, his tendencies towards the Whig Party increased as a member of

Brooks's Brooks's is a gentlemen's club in St James's Street, London. It is one of the oldest and most exclusive gentlemen's clubs in the world. History In January 1762, a private society was established at 50 Pall Mall by Messrs. Boothby and James ...

. Davenport thoroughly condemned the

Peterloo Massacre The Peterloo Massacre took place at St Peter's Field, Manchester, Lancashire, England, on Monday 16 August 1819. Fifteen people died when cavalry charged into a crowd of around 60,000 people who had gathered to demand the reform of parliament ...

and wrote a journal on it for the Edinburgh Review although that was not published. Davenport wished to enter parliament in 1820, however his father refused to support his bid, as his sister related to him:

The first of these, that the occurrences of last year had brought into too strong evidence the very decided and opposite line of politics you were likely to pursue in Parliament. The other, that the money paid for debts would render it much more unlikely that he would come forward with another sum for another purpose. He communicated himself the result of your application and we said all the things you may suppose on the occasion, and he quarrelled and sulked for a day or two.

Although, Davenport did still stand for

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincoln ...

as an independent candidate, although came third behind the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

and Whig candidates and when it came up again in 1822 he stood aside for his friend and future brother-in-law

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review ''WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who wa ...

. In 1826 Davenport stood as the Whig candidate for

and won the election and stood until the

1830 United Kingdom general election The 1830 United Kingdom general election was triggered by the death of King George IV and produced the first parliament of the reign of his successor, William IV. Fought in the aftermath of the Swing Riots, it saw electoral reform become a majo ...

Family life

Davenport married Caroline Anne Hurt, daughter of Richard Hurt of

Wirksworth Wirksworth is a market town in the Derbyshire Dales district of Derbyshire, England. Its population of 5,038 in the 2011 census was estimated at 5,180 in 2019. Wirksworth contains the source of the River Ecclesbourne. The town was granted a mark ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands, England. It includes much of the Peak District National Park, the southern end of the Pennine range of hills and part of the National Forest. It borders Greater Manchester to the nor ...

on 30 November 1830, they had one son: * Arthur Henry Davenport of

(1832 – 1867), died without issue and was succeeded by his cousin William Bromley-Davenport Davenport died on 9 September 1847 and was succeeded by his son, Arthur Henry Davenport.

References

External links

History of Parliament; DAVENPORT, Edward Davies (1778-1847), of Calveley, Cheshire
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davenport, Edward Davies 1778 births 1847 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford UK MPs 1826–1830 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies