Sir James Dashwood, 2nd Baronet (1715–1779) was an English 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 1740 to 1768.

Early life

He was the son of Robert Dashwood, and his grandfather from whom he inherited the baronetcy was Sir Robert Dashwood, 1st Baronet; his mother was Dorothy Reade, daughter of Sir James Reade, 2nd Baronet. He was educated at

John Roysse John Roysse (1500 or 1501–1571) was an English mercer and benefactor of Abingdon School in Abingdon, Oxfordshire. Personal life John Roysse was probably connected with the Roysse family of East Hagbourne but there are few records appertaining ...

's Free School in Abingdon (now

Abingdon School Abingdon School is a day and boarding independent school for boys in Abingdon-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. The twentieth oldest independent British school, it celebrated its 750th anniversary in 2006. The school was described as "highly ...

). He was a Steward of the OA Club in 1746.

Kirtlington Park

He inherited large estates in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

, being on a

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 tuto ...

when he came into them in 1734, and built an imposing house at

Kirtlington Kirtlington is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in Oxfordshire about west of Bicester. The parish includes the Hamlet (place), hamlet of Northbrook. The United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census recorded the parish's populat ...

. Kirklington Park was constructed in the years 1742 to 1746, by William Smith of Warwick and John Sanderson, starting from plans by

James Gibbs James Gibbs (23 December 1682 – 5 August 1754) was one of Britain's most influential architects. Born in Aberdeen, he trained as an architect in Rome, and practised mainly in England. He is an important figure whose work spanned the transi ...

; the grounds were laid out by

Lancelot Brown Lancelot Brown (born c. 1715–16, baptised 30 August 1716 – 6 February 1783), more commonly known as Capability Brown, was an English gardener and landscape architect, who remains the most famous figure in the history of the English lan ...

. Dashwood also built up a significant library, and in 1747 was paying

James Lovell James Arthur Lovell Jr. (; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of the f ...

, the sculptor and interior decorator. In 1931 the rococo dining room was exported, and it is now in the

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

. Involved in it were Thomas Roberts (plasterwork), and either

Henry Cheere Sir Henry Cheere, 1st Baronet (1703 – 15 January 1781) was a renowned English sculptor and monumental mason.George Edward Cokayne, ed., ''The Complete Baronetage'', 5 volumes (no date, c.1900); reprint, (Gloucester: Alan Sutton Publishing, 1983), ...

or John Cheere (chimneypiece). Brown was at work on Kirtlington Park from the end of 1751 to 1757. This was a second phase of work in which the old house, Northbrook House, was demolished in 1750, and previous garden work by Thomas Greening was altered.

Views

Dashwood in local politics represented what was called the "old interest", and in national politics was a Jacobite, and someone prepared to work against

Catholic disabilities Disabilities were legal restrictions and limitations placed on the Roman Catholics of England since the issuance of the Act of Supremacy in 1534. These disabilities were first sanctioned by the Penal Laws, enacted under the reigns of Henry VIII an ...

. Scottish fir trees at Kirtington demonstrated his politics. He belonged to the Loyal Brotherhood, a Tory drinking club that also served as a London focus for party organisation, with other local MPs. At the time of the

1745 Jacobite Rebellion The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

he was one of a group of Oxfordshire Tories who refused to join the county association. In 1749 the

Earl of Egmont Earl of Egmont was a title in the Peerage of Ireland, created in 1733 for John Perceval, 1st Viscount Perceval. It became extinct with the death of the twelfth earl in 2011. History The Percevals claimed to be an ancient Anglo-Norman family, ...

made a survey of MPs for the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

, finding Dashwood a "strongly tainted" Jacobite. The Old Interest locally held drinking club sessions at which the

Young Pretender Charles Edward Louis John Sylvester Maria Casimir Stuart (20 December 1720 – 30 January 1788) was the elder son of James Francis Edward Stuart, grandson of James II and VII, and the Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Scotland and ...

was lauded, into the 1750s. At this period Tory political planning was low key, in meetings that resembled social events: one such dinner was held at Dashwood's house on 29 February 1756, at which voting rights were discussed. He was awarded an honorary D.C.L. by the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

, and the city made him High Steward.

In politics

In 1738 Dashwood was

High Sheriff of Oxfordshire The High Sheriff of Oxfordshire, in common with other counties, was originally the King's representative on taxation upholding the law in Saxon times. The word Sheriff evolved from 'shire-reeve'. The title of High Sheriff is therefore much olde ...

. He became Tory Member of Parliament for , unopposed, in 1740 on the death of

Sir William Stapleton, 4th Baronet Sir William Stapleton, 4th Baronet ( 1698–1740), of Rotherfield Greys, Oxfordshire, was an English Jacobite and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1727 to 1740. Early life Stapleton was brought up on Nevis in the British Leew ...

, standing again in 1741. He moved swiftly to call for the repeal of the

Jewish Naturalization Act 1753 The Jewish Naturalisation Act 1753 was an Act of Parliament (26 Geo. 2, c. 26) of the Parliament of Great Britain, which received royal assent on 7 July 1753 but was repealed in 1754 (27 Geo 2, c. 1) due to widespread opposition to its provision ...

in October of the year of its passing (he had not previously made a speech on the House, and had not prepared the ground for this one); he also at that period spoke against the

Plantation Act 1740 The Plantation Act 1740 ( referring to colonies) or the Naturalization Act 1740 are common namesMichael Lemay, Elliott Robert BarkanU.S. Immigration and Naturalization Laws and Issues: A Documentary History, pp 6-9. (1999) used for an act of the ...

. The general election of 1754 saw confusion reign in Oxfordshire. Dashwood at this time faced serious political opposition, from Lady Susanna Keck at

Great Tew Great Tew is an English village and civil parish in Oxfordshire, about north-east of Chipping Norton and south-west of Banbury. The 2011 Census gave a parish population of 156. This qualifies it for an annual parish meeting, not a monthly ...

as well as the Whig candidates. In the end four members were returned for the two-man constituency. In the subsequent legal proceedings, Dashwood and his Tory colleague

Viscount Wenman Viscount Wenman, of Tuam in the County of Galway, was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created on 30 July 1628 for Sir Richard Wenman, Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire in 1620 and 1625, the son of Thomas Wenman (died 1577), a Bucking ...

were ousted, despite advice from distinguished lawyers including Roger Newdigate and

William Blackstone Sir William Blackstone (10 July 1723 – 14 February 1780) was an English jurist, judge and Tory politician of the eighteenth century. He is most noted for writing the ''Commentaries on the Laws of England''. Born into a middle-class family i ...

. In 1761 a Tory–Whig deal was struck locally with the

Duke of Marlborough General John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, 1st Prince of Mindelheim, 1st Count of Nellenburg, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, (26 May 1650 – 16 June 1722 O.S.) was an English soldier and statesman whose career spanned the reign ...

, and Dashwood returned to Parliament once more, unopposed. He was not an active member, though he took a serious interest in enclosure bills, and retired from politics in 1768.

Family

Dashwood married on 17 February 1739 Elizabeth Spencer, daughter of Edward Spencer of

Rendlesham Rendlesham is a village and civil parish near Woodbridge, Suffolk, United Kingdom. It was a royal centre of authority for the king of the East Angles, of the Wuffinga line; the proximity of the Sutton Hoo ship burial may indicate a connection ...

. They had three sons and three daughters. The eldest son,

Henry Watkin Henry Watkin (March 6, 1824 – November 21, 1910), was an expatriate English printer and cooperative socialist in Cincinnati, Ohio during the mid-to-late 19th century. While a young printer in London, Watkin became interested in the utopian soc ...

, inherited the baronetcy. Of the other children: *

Elizabeth Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to: People * Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name) * Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist Ships * HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships * ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...

, the eldest daughter, married

George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester George Montagu, 4th Duke of Manchester PC (6 April 17372 September 1788) was a British politician and diplomat. Early life He was the son of Robert Montagu, 3rd Duke of Manchester and the former Harriet Dunch. Among his siblings were Lord Cha ...

Anne Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

married

John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway John Stewart, 7th Earl of Galloway, (13 March 1736 – 13 November 1806), styled Viscount Garlies from 1747 until 1773, was a British peer who became the 7th Earl of Galloway in 1773 and served as a Member of Parliament from 1761 to 1773. Early ...

in 1764, as his second wife, and they had 16 children *The third daughter, Catherine, married

Lucy Knightley Lucy Knightley (1742–1791) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1763 and 1784. Early life Knightley was the son of Valentine Knightley of Fawsley, Northamptonshire and his wife Elizabeth Dummer, daughter of Edward Du ...

, MP for *The second son was Thomas, who went to India and married Charlotte Auriol, daughter of James Auriol. His son of the same name Thomas John joined the Bengal Civil Service, and in 1822 married Susan Wodehouse, daughter of Thomas Wodehouse the barrister.

Early life

Kirtlington Park

Views

In politics

Family

See also

Notes

Further reading

External links