Henry Broadwood (8 August 1795 or 1793 – 1878) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

politician. He was a younger son of

John Broadwood John Broadwood (6 October 1732 – 17 July 1812) was the Scottish founder of the piano manufacturer Broadwood and Sons. Life Broadwood was born 6 October 1732 and christened 15 Oct 1732 at St Helens, Cockburnspath in Berwickshire, and grew up in ...

(by his second wife) and came from the famous piano-making family who owned

John Broadwood & Sons John Broadwood & Sons is an English piano manufacturer, founded in 1728 by Burkat Shudi and continued after his death in 1773 by John Broadwood. Early history John Broadwood (1732–1812), a Scottish joiner and cabinetmaker, came to London ...

, and supplied

Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...

with his favourite piano. He studied at

Emmanuel College, Cambridge Emmanuel College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. The college was founded in 1584 by Sir Walter Mildmay, Chancellor of the Exchequer to Elizabeth I. The site on which the college sits was once a priory for Dominican mon ...

from 1813.Collins, 92 He became a

Gentleman of the Privy Chamber A privy chamber was the private apartment of a royal residence in England. The Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber were noble-born servants to the Crown who would wait and attend on the King in private, as well as during various court activities, f ...

King George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from the death of his father, King George III, on 29 January 1820, until his own death ten y ...

in 1826, continuing under

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded h ...

after 1830. After unsuccessfully contesting the 1835 general election for

Bridgwater Bridgwater is a large historic market town and civil parish in Somerset, England. Its population currently stands at around 41,276 as of 2022. Bridgwater is at the edge of the Somerset Levels, in level and well-wooded country. The town lies alon ...

, Broadwood became Conservative

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 ...

(MP) for the same seat at a by-election in 1837—caused by the resignation of

John Temple Leader John Temple Leader (7 May 1810 – 1 March 1903) was an English politician and connoisseur. Early life Born at his father's house, Putney Hill Villa, on 7 May 1810, he was the younger son of Mary and William Leader, a London merchant, and Whig ...

. He then held the seat until

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

when he did not seek re-election. On 19 May 1840 he married Fanny Lowther (1818-1890) at Saint Martin in the Fields, a few hundred yards from the homes of both. She was the "natural" (illegitimate) daughter of the unmarried Viscount Lowther, the future

William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale, PC, FRS (21 July 1787 – 4 March 1872), styled Viscount Lowther between 1807 and 1844, was a British Tory politician. Background Lonsdale was the eldest son of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, and ...

, also a Tory MP, who had been a friend of George IV. By a later liaison of her mother with Dr

Charles Lewis Meryon Charles Lewis Meryon (1783–1877) was an English physician and biographer. Life The son of Lewis Meryon of Rye, Sussex, from a Huguenot background, he was born on 27 June 1783. He was educated at Merchant Taylors' School, from 1796 to 1802. Obt ...

, Fanny Lowther was the half-sister of the French artist

Charles Meryon Charles Meryon (sometimes Méryon, 23 November 1821 – 14 February 1868) was a French artist who worked almost entirely in etching, as he had colour blindness. Although now little-known in the English-speaking world, he is generally recognise ...

who she helped support to the end of his life. She was living with her father at 15

Carlton House Terrace Carlton House Terrace is a street in the St James's district of the City of Westminster in London. Its principal architectural feature is a pair of terraces of white stucco-faced houses on the south side of the street overlooking St. James's ...

at her marriage, and received a

dowry A dowry is a payment, such as property or money, paid by the bride's family to the groom or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price and dower. While bride price or bride service is a payment b ...

of £10,000. After Lowther's death in 1872 Fanny was left £125,000. They had two sons and a daughter, Mary, who died young (1851–66). The elder son was Arthur Broadwood (1849-1927), who retired from the army as a colonel in 1906, a year after being made Companion of the

Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, o ...

. He had five children. His brother was Alfred Broadwood (1856-1909), who also had children. Broadwood had been left £20,000 and a country house in Essex at his father's death in 1812. Most of this was invested by his trustees in a partnership in a Lion Brewery in London (apparently not the Lion Brewery Co in

Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...

). But the business, perhaps neglected by Broadwood, was not a success, and in 1848 his "fortune collapsed", and for the rest of his life he lived in

Tunbridge Wells Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in Kent, England, southeast of central London. It lies close to the border with East Sussex on the northern edge of the Weald, High Weald, whose sandstone geology is exemplified by the rock formation High Roc ...

, though remaining an MP until 1852.Collins, 269

Notes

References

*Collins, Roger, ''Charles Meryon: A Life'', 1999, Garton & Company, , 9780906030356

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Broadwood, Henry UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 1795 births 1878 deaths Gentlemen of the Privy Chamber