Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet (pronounced "Mews") (28 December 1817 – 1 January 1883), was head of Meux and Co., a London

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of bee ...

, and a

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 o ...

(MP).

Early life

He was educated at

Eton College 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, ...

and Christ Church, Oxford. On the death of his father on 7 April 1841, he succeeded to the baronetcy and took over the running of Meux's brewery off the

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road t ...

(later the

Horse Shoe Brewery The Horse Shoe Brewery was an English brewery in the City of Westminster that was established in 1764 and became a major producer of porter, from 1809 as Henry Meux & Co. It was the site of the London Beer Flood in 1814, which killed eight peop ...

), which was at the time one of the largest producers of

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian regional airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., ...

in London.

Career

He served as

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provisio ...

in 1845. He was then

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 ...

MP for Hertfordshire from 1847 to 1859. By 1855 Meux began showing signs of mental decline and from 1858 he was bedbound with

general paresis of the insane General paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane (GPI), paralytic dementia, or syphilitic paresis is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder, classified as an organic mental disorder and is caused by late-stage syphilis and the chro ...

, now known to have been caused by tertiary syphilis. He refused to stand down at the March 1857 election and, despite his condition, the Conservatives decided to nominate him rather than risk a contest. He was returned unopposed and the party secured a

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Frenc ...

for him for the entire session. On 3 July 1857 he amended his will to leave his entire estate to his wife. His disinherited sisters contested this change and in June 1858 the

Commissioners in Lunacy The Commissioners in Lunacy or Lunacy Commission were a public body established by the Lunacy Act 1845 to oversee asylums and the welfare of mentally ill people in England and Wales. It succeeded the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy. Previ ...

considered whether he had been of sound mind at the time. Evidence of his occasional work and social activity later in 1857 caused the will to be upheld. After his insanity his business affairs were handled by

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to ...

s. In 1870 they bought an estate at East Overton, Wiltshire (now part of

West Overton West Overton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Marlborough. The river Kennet runs immediately north of the village, separating it from the A4 road. The parish includes the village of Lockeridge, a ...

parish), and they later paid for the rebuilding of the parish church. From 1877 he was the owner of Dauntsey Park House, near

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

in Wiltshire. His son

Henry Bruce Meux Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet (pronounced "Mews") (1856–1900) was an English baronet, the son of Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet (1817–1883), a brewer and politician. Career Educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, Meux was ...

took over the running of the brewery in 1878.

Personal life

Sir Henry Meux, 3rd Baronet and his wife Valerie

He married Lady Louisa Caroline Brudenell-Bruce on 19 January 1856, the eldest daughter of Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury and his wife, the former Hon. Louisa Elizabeth Horsley-Beresford (daughter of

John Horsley-Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies John Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies (20 January 1774 – 1 March 1865) was an Irish peer and clergyman. His father, the 1st Baron Decies was son of Marcus Beresford, 1st Earl of Tyrone and Catherine de Poer, Countess of Tyrone. Early life Beresfor ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet (1856–1900), who married socialite Valerie Langdon in 1878. Sir Henry died on 1 January 1883. His widow, Lady Louisa, died in December 1894.

References

External links

* , - 1817 births 1883 deaths Meux, Henry, 2nd Baronet High Sheriffs of Hertfordshire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Hertfordshire {{England-Conservative-UK-MP-1810s-stub