Sir Edward des Bouverie, 2nd Baronet (1688 – 21 November 1736) was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat in 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. ...

from 1719 to 1734. In 1717 he inherited his title three years after its grant to his father, and his combined wealth enabled him to purchase

Longford Castle Longford Castle stands on the banks of the River Avon south of Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. It is the seat of the Earl of Radnor, and an example of the Elizabethan prodigy house. History In 1573 Thomas Gorges acquired the manor (at the t ...

in Wiltshire, which later became a home of his brother's most senior descendants and has been in the family for more than 300 years.

Early life

des Bouverie was born in 1688, the eldest son of London merchant Sir William des Bouverie and his second wife Anne Urry. The des Bouverie family was

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

and came to England in the 16th century settling at Canterbury. He trained as a merchant and was sent as an apprentice at the age of 12 to an uncle Sir Christopher des Bouverie at

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

.Lea, R. S. (1970
"BOUVERIE, Sir Edward des, 2nd Bt. (c.1690–1736), of Longford Castle, in Britford, Wilts."
''The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1715–1754'', edited by

Romney Sedgwick Richard Romney Sedgwick (29 May 1894 – 20 January 1972) was a British historian, civil servant and diplomat. He was the elder son of Professor Adam Sedgwick, 1854–1913, and Laura Helen Elizabeth Robinson. He married Mana St David Hodson, daught ...

For a time he ran his own cloth business in Cyprus. His father was created a

baronet A baronet ( or ; abbreviated Bart or Bt) or the female equivalent, a baronetess (, , or ; abbreviation Btss), is the holder of a baronetcy, a hereditary title awarded by the British Crown. The title of baronet is mentioned as early as the 14th ...

in the

Baronetage of Great Britain Baronets are a rank in the British aristocracy. The current Baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier but existing Baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland, and Great Britain. Baronetage of England (1611–1705) King James I ...

in 1714. Edward des Bouverie succeeded on his father's death in the baronetcy on 19 May 1717, in which year he purchased the estate of

, in

Britford Britford is a village and civil parish beside the River Avon about south-east of Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. The village is just off the A338 Salisbury-Bournemouth road. The 2011 Census recorded a parish population of 592. Geography ...

, south Wiltshire from

Lord Coleraine Baron Coleraine is a title that has been created three times, twice in the Peerage of Ireland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The first creation came in the Peerage of Ireland in 1625 for the courtier Hugh Hare. This creation beca ...

. Longford has been the home of his brother's

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

descendants ever since. He married on 7 July 1718, in the chapel at

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

Strand, London Strand (or the Strand) is a major thoroughfare in the City of Westminster, Central London. It runs just over from Trafalgar Square eastwards to Temple Bar, where the road becomes Fleet Street in the City of London, and is part of the A4 ...

, Mary Smyth, the second daughter of John Smyth, of Beaufort buildings on the Strand, and his wife Elizabeth Mulsho. Her father was Commissioner of Excise and her elder sister, Anne Smyth married

Michael Burke, 10th Earl of Clanricarde Michael Burke, 10th Earl of Clanricarde (; ; 1686–1736), styled Lord Dunkellin (; ) until 1722, was an Irish peer who was Governor of Galway (1712) and a Privy Counsellor in Ireland (1726). Career He was the son of John Burke, 9th Earl of C ...

Political career

Longford Castle is east of

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 ...

(across

Cranborne Chase Cranborne Chase () is an area of central southern England, straddling the counties Dorset, Hampshire and Wiltshire. It is part of the Cranborne Chase and West Wiltshire Downs Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). The area is dominated by, ...

Cokayne, George Edward George Edward Cokayne, (29 April 1825 – 6 August 1911), was an English genealogist and long-serving herald at the College of Arms in London, who eventually rose to the rank of Clarenceux King of Arms. He wrote such authoritative and standar ...

(1906)
Complete Baronetage
'. Volume V. Exeter: W. Pollard & Co. . p. 18 des Bouverie was returned as a

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 ...

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

on 24 January 1719 on petition after a by-election. He was re-elected MP for Shaftesbury at the general elections of 1722 and 1727. In Parliament, he consistently voted with the Opposition against the Whig government. He did not stand in the general election of 1734.

Death and legacy

des Bouverie died on 21 November 1736 at

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

aged 47 or 48. His wife Lady Mary had died on 3 January 1721, and was buried at Britford. They had no issue and on Sir Edward's death, he was succeeded by his younger brother

Jacob Jacob (; ; ar, يَعْقُوب, Yaʿqūb; gr, Ἰακώβ, Iakṓb), later given the name Israel, is regarded as a patriarch of the Israelites and is an important figure in Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. J ...

. He was buried at Britford.

References

* ''A Guide to Longford Castle'', the National Gallery {{DEFAULTSORT:Des Bouverie, Edward, 2nd Baronet Year of birth uncertain 1690 births 1736 deaths Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1727–1734 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Tory MPs (pre-1834)