Lord Henry Seymour (15 December 1746 – 5 February 1830) was a British politician, the second son of

Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford Francis Seymour-Conway, 1st Marquess of Hertford, KG, PC, PC (Ire) (5 July 1718 – 14 June 1794) of Ragley Hall, Arrow, in Warwickshire, was a British courtier and politician who, briefly, was Viceroy of Ireland where he had substantial es ...

. He was known as Hon. Henry Seymour-Conway until 1793, when his father was created a

marquess A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

; he then became Lord Henry Seymour-Conway, but dropped the surname of Conway after his father's death in 1794. Norris Castle - East Cowes - geograph

Seymour-Conway was educated at

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

Hertford College, Oxford Hertford College ( ), previously known as Magdalen Hall, is a colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It is located on Catte Street in the centre of Oxford, directly opposite the main ga ...

, and took his MA from

Merton College Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 1260s when Walter de Merton, ch ...

in 1767. He was first elected to 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. ...

in 1766 as Member for

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. He generally, though not always, voted with his uncle and namesake

Henry Seymour Conway Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway (1721 – 9 July 1795) was a British general and statesman. A brother of the 1st Marquess of Hertford, and cousin of Horace Walpole, he began his military career in the War of the Austrian Succession. He ...

. After the 1768 election, when he and Andrew Archer defeated a challenge by

Walter Waring Walter Waring may refer to: * Walter Waring (1667–1724), Member of Parliament (MP) for Bishop's Castle (UK Parliament constituency), Bishop's Castle 1689–1690 and 1690–1695 * Walter Waring (1726–1780), MP for Bishop's Castle (UK Parliament ...

, he was a consistent supporter of the Grafton and then the North governments. Due to a falling-out between his father, the Earl of Hertford, and the Corporation of

, Seymour-Conway did not stand as a candidate there at the 1774 election. He was instead returned by the North administration at

Midhurst Midhurst () is a market town, parish and civil parish in West Sussex, England. It lies on the River Rother inland from the English Channel, and north of the county town of Chichester. The name Midhurst was first recorded in 1186 as ''Middeh ...

, which was a Treasury borough that year. In 1776, he was also returned to the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chamb ...

for Antrim County, which he represented until 1783. As his re-election in Midhurst did not appear to be sustainable in the 1780 election, he stood successfully at Downton. In the 1784 election, Seymour-Conway and Robert Shafto faced off against Hon. Edward Bouverie and William Scott, and, a double return being made, the case came before the House of Commons. Seymour-Conway chose not to stand in the ensuing by-election; his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

took his place and won the by-election. During this period, he was for some time a

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 the Warwickshire Militia, and befriended the poet

George Crabbe George Crabbe ( ; 24 December 1754 – 3 February 1832) was an English poet, surgeon and clergyman. He is best known for his early use of the realistic narrative form and his descriptions of middle and working-class life and people. In the 177 ...

while quartered at

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the English county, county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the int ...

. On 11 February 1793, he was promoted

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. The election of 1784 marked Henry's retirement from politics. In 1790, he and his brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

were jointly granted, for life, the sinecures of joint

prothonotary The word prothonotary is recorded in English since 1447, as "principal clerk of a court," from L.L. ''prothonotarius'' ( c. 400), from Greek ''protonotarios'' "first scribe," originally the chief of the college of recorders of the court of the B ...

, clerk of the crown, filazer, and keeper of the declarations of the King's Bench in Ireland. By 1816, these offices brought an income of more than £10,000 a year (equivalent to £ as of ) . He was also craner and wharfinger of the Port of Dublin, a

sinecure A sinecure ( or ; from the Latin , 'without', and , 'care') is an office, carrying a salary or otherwise generating income, that requires or involves little or no responsibility, labour, or active service. The term originated in the medieval chu ...

abolished in 1830. He spent the rest of his life in the improvement of his estate at

Norris Castle Norris Castle is located on the Isle of Wight. It was designed by James Wyatt for Lord Henry Seymour (politician), Lord Henry Seymour. The estate adjoins Osborne House, country home to Victoria of the United Kingdom, Queen Victoria. On the othe ...

, in the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...

, where he experimented with the use of seaweed as a fertiliser. He had a reputation for both eccentricity and benevolence when he died, unmarried, in 1830. There is a memorial to him in St. Mildred's Church, Whippingham. He left Norris Castle to his youngest brother

Lord George Seymour Lord George Seymour-Conway (21 July 1763 – 10 March 1848), known as Lord George Seymour, was a British politician. A member of the Seymour family headed by the Duke of Somerset, Seymour was the seventh son and youngest child of Francis Seymo ...

, who sold it to newspaperman Robert Bell in 1839.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Seymour, Henry, Lord 1746 births 1830 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Hertford College, Oxford Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 British MPs 1774–1780 British MPs 1780–1784 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Antrim constituencies Irish MPs 1776–1783 Younger sons of marquesses Henry Seymour-Conway Members of Parliament for Coventry Prothonotaries