John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney of St Leonards (21 February 1764 – 20 January 1831) was a British

peer Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a net ...

and Member of Parliament.

Early life

Townshend was born on 21 February 1764. He was the eldest son of twelve children born to Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney of St Leonards and the former Elizabeth Powys (1736–1826). His mother was a Lady of the Bedchamber to Queen Charlotte. Two of his brothers were also Members of Parliament, the Hon. Horatio George Powys Townshend and the Hon. William Augustus Townshend. Among his siblings were Hon Mary Elizabeth Townshend, who married John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham; Hon. Frances Townshend, who married George Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor; Hon Harriet Katherine Townshend, who married their second cousin

Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch Charles William Henry Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch and 6th Duke of Queensberry, KT (24 May 1772 – 20 April 1819), styled Earl of Dalkeith until 1812, was a British landowner, amateur cricketer and Tory politician. Background and educ ...

. His paternal grandparents were Hon. Thomas Townshend MP (the second son of

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, (; 18 April 167421 June 1738) was an English Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, 1714–1717, 1721–1730. He directed British foreign policy in c ...

and Hon. Elizabeth Pelham, the only surviving daughter and heiress of

Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham of Laughton Bt ( 1653 – 23 February 1712) was a moderate English Whig politician and Member of Parliament for several constituencies. He is best remembered as the father of two British prime ministers (He ...

) and the former Albinia Selwyn (daughter and heiress of Col. John Selwyn MP). His maternal grandparents were Richard Powys MP, of

Hintlesham Hall Hintlesham is a small village in Suffolk, England, situated roughly halfway between Ipswich and Hadleigh, Suffolk, Hadleigh. It is in the Belstead Brook Division, Suffolk, Belstead Brook electoral division of Suffolk County Council. The village ...

, and the former Lady Mary Brudenell (the second daughter of

George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan (29 September 1685 – 5 July 1732), styled Lord Brudenell between 1698 and 1703, was a British peer. Origins He was the son of Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell, by his wife Lady Frances Savile, grand-daugh ...

). From 1775 to 1781, he was educated at

Eton School Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, followed by

Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Iris ...

. He went on the

Grand Tour The Grand Tour was the principally 17th- to early 19th-century custom of a traditional trip through Europe, with Italy as a key destination, undertaken by upper-class young European men of sufficient means and rank (typically accompanied by a tu ...

in 1785.

Career

In 1786, he was elected to the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom, supreme Legislature, legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of We ...

as the Hon. John Townshend for

Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, and is in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the n ...

, sitting from 1786 to 1790. He then sat for Whitchurch from 1790 to 1800, where he was listed among opponents of

repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...

of the

Test Act The Test Acts were a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and nonconformists. The underlying principle was that only people taking communion i ...

in Scotland in 1791. Townshend supported

Pitt Pitt most commonly refers to: *The University of Pittsburgh, commonly known as Pitt, a university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States **Pitt Panthers, the athletic teams of the University of Pittsburgh * Pitt (surname), a surname o ...

's administration, voting for his assessed taxes on 4 January 1798, and acting as ministerial teller on 20 June 1798. During his tenure, "he is not known to have uttered a syllable in the House." From 1784 to 1789, he served as the

Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs This article lists past and present Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State serving the Home Secretary of the United Kingdom at the Home Office. Non-permanent and parliamentary under-secretaries, 1782–present *April 1782: Evan Nepean *April 1 ...

followed by a

Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of The Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...

from 1789 to 1793. From 1793 to 1800, he was a

Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second Lord of th ...

. Upon the death of his father in 1800, he inherited his peerage and became a courtier. From 1800 to 1810, he was a

Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

, while also serving as a Ranger of Hyde Park and Ranger of

St James's Park St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous c ...

from 1807 to his death.

Personal life

Caroline, Viscountess Sydney, by Thomas Lawrence

He was twice married and both of his wives died in childbirth. His first marriage took place on 13 April 1790 to the Hon. Sophia Southwell, daughter of Sophia (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth ...

Campbell) Southwell and

Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford (6 June 1738 – 1 November 1777) was a British politician. Early life Southwell was born on 6 June 1738 as the only son and heir of Lady Katherine Watson and Edward Southwell Jr. (1705–1755). His fat ...

. Before her death on 9 November 1795, they were the parents of two children together: * Hon. Sophia Mary Townshend (d. 1852), who married John Russell, third son of

Lord William Russell Lord William Russell (20 August 1767 – 5 May 1840) was a member of the British aristocratic Russell family and longtime Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament. He did little to attract public attention after the end of his p ...

(himself the third son of

Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (27 September 1739 – 22 March 1767) was a British politician and the eldest son of the 4th Duke of Bedford and his second wife Lady Gertrude Leveson-Gower. From 1759 to 1761, he sat in the Irish House of ...

), and was the mother of

Edward Russell, 23rd Baron de Clifford Edward Southwell Russell, 23rd Baron de Clifford (30 April 1824 – 6 August 1877) was a British Whig politician. Russell was the son of Commander John Russell, third son of Lord William Russell, and Sophia Coussmaker, Baroness de Clifford. He ...

, a Member of Parliament for

Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town within West Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy from which its name derives. At the 2011 census the three electoral wards (North, South and South West) had a population of ...

. * Mary Elizabeth Sydney (1794–1847), who married George James Cholmondeley (1752–1830). After his death, she married

Charles Marsham, 2nd Earl of Romney Charles Marsham, 2nd Earl of Romney (22 November 1777 – 29 March 1845), styled Viscount Marsham between 1801 and 1811, was a British peer and politician. Biography Romney was the son of Charles Marsham, 1st Earl of Romney, and Lady Franc ...

. He married a second time, to Lady Caroline Elizabeth Letitia Clements on 27 Mat 1802. Lady Caroline was the third daughter of

Robert Clements, 1st Earl of Leitrim Robert Clements, 1st Earl of Leitrim (25 November 1732 – 27 July 1804)Collen, G.W. (1840)''Debrett's Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland'' London. p. 444. Accessed 5 February 2020. was an Irish nobleman and politician. Son of Cavan Boroug ...

and the former Lady Elizabeth Skeffington (the eldest daughter, by his second wife, of

Clotworthy Skeffington, 1st Earl of Massereene Clotworthy Skeffington, 1st Earl of Massereene PC (I) (1715 – 14 September 1757) was an Anglo-Irish peer. Massereene was the son of Clotworthy Skeffington, 4th Viscount Massereene and Lady Catherine Chichester, daughter of Arthur Chichester, ...

). Before her death on 9 August 1805, they were the parents of one child together: *

John Robert Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney John Robert Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney (9 August 1805 – 14 February 1890), known as The Viscount Sydney between 1831 and 1874, was a British Liberal politician. In a ministerial career spanning over 30 years, he was twice Lord Chamberlain of ...

(1805–1890), who married Lady Emily Paget (1810–1893), eldest daughter of

Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...

. Sydney died on 20 January 1831. His death was viewed by the family "as a great release from hopeless suffering".Letter from Lord Chatham to Harriet Hester (Eliot) Pringle, dated 26 January 1831. His titles and estate was inherited by his only son, John, who was created the first Earl Sydney, of Scadbury in the County of Kent on 27 February 1874. As John and his wife had no children, the Earldom, Viscountcy and Barony of Sydney became extinct on his death on 14 February 1890.

References

External links

John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney (1764-1831), Ranger of Hyde Park and St James's Park
at

National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London housing a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. It was arguably the first national public gallery dedicated to portraits in the world when it ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney, John Townshend, 2nd Viscount 1764 births 1831 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Lords of the Admiralty Viscounts Sydney John Townshend