Matthias Attwood (24 November 1779 – 11 November 1851) 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 in ...

and

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. The ...

politician, and banker. Attwood was the second son of ironmaster Matthias Attwood of Hawne House, Halesowen,

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see H ...

and Ann née Adams, and the brother of Thomas Attwood. In 1806, he married Susannah, daughter of William Twells of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

. They had at least one son, Matthias Wolverley Attwood, who 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

Greenwich Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross. Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...

. He joined the family bank—Spooner, Atwood and Holman—as a partner, and in 1810 and 1811 he became a prominent pamphleteering opponent of the resumption of cash payments, converting publicist William Cobbett, while his brother, Thomas, led the opposition to the orders in council at Birmingham. From 1820, he began to promote and direct numerous public companies. His campaigning led to Attwood's decision to stand for election to parliament, and he was recommended to the Tory MP for Fowey,

George Lucy George Hammond Lucy (1789–1845) was a British landowner, Member of Parliament and High Sheriff. Early life He was born the son of the Rev. John Lucy, born John Hammond, of Charlecote Park, near Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire and educat ...

. While Lucy was not initially convinced, only Attwood was found to be willing to risk the election and shoulder the expense of the canvas. Lucy also believed Atwood would support the government on all matters except resumption, and had no qualms about voting against

Catholic relief The Roman Catholic Relief Bills were a series of measures introduced over time in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries before the Parliaments of Great Britain and the United Kingdom to remove the restrictions and prohibitions impose ...

. At a by-election in 1819, he was successful but, less than two months later, he was unseated in favour of Ernest Edgcumbe without being able to do anything in parliament. Attwood returned to parliament the next year after succeeding, after an

election petition An election petition refers to the procedure for challenging the result of a Parliamentary election. Outcomes When a petition is lodged against an election return, there are 4 possible outcomes: # The election is declared void. The result is q ...

arising from the 1820 election, to take the seat of

Callington Callington ( kw, Kelliwik) is a civil parish and town in east Cornwall, England, United Kingdom about north of Saltash and south of Launceston. Callington parish had a population of 4,783 in 2001, according to the 2001 census. This had inc ...

and held that seat for 10 years. In 1830, he switched his attention to

Boroughbridge Boroughbridge () is a town and civil parish in the Harrogate district of North Yorkshire, England. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is north-west of the county town of York. Until a bypass was built the town lay on t ...

, where he was elected as one of two members. When this seat was abolished at the 1832 general election, he became MP for

Whitehaven Whitehaven is a town and port on the English north west coast and near to the Lake District National Park in Cumbria, England. Historically in Cumberland, it lies by road south-west of Carlisle and to the north of Barrow-in-Furness. It i ...

, and held that seat for 15 years until 1847, when he did not seek re-election.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Attwood, Matthias UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 Tory MPs (pre-1834) Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies 1779 births 1851 deaths People from Halesowen Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Fowey Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Callington