Thomas Powell (c. 1701–1752) of Nanteos, was a Welsh 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 1725 to 1727 and from 1742 to 1747. Powell was the eldest son of William Powell and Averina Le Brun; his mother was the daughter of Cornelius Le Brun of Cologne and Anne Jones, daughter of Colonel John Jones of Nanteos. Powell's father was a leading Welsh Jacobite who acquired Nanteos through his mother. Powell was admitted at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn an ...

in 1718. He married Mary Frederick, daughter of Thomas Frederick of

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...

.Dictionary of Welsh Biography Powell family of Nanteos
/ref> Powell was returned as Tory

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

Cardigan Boroughs The Cardigan District of Boroughs was a parliamentary constituency in Wales which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom and its predecessors, from 1542 until it was abolished for t ...

at a by-election on 1 April 1725 on the strength of his control of

Tregaron Tregaron ( "town of St Caron") is an ancient market town in Ceredigion, Wales, astride the River Brenig, a tributary of the River Teifi. Tregaron is northeast of Lampeter. According to the 2011 Census, the population of the ward of Tregaron wa ...

, one of the boroughs in the constituency. At the 1727 general election, he stood for

Cardiganshire Ceredigion ( , , ) is a county in the west of Wales, corresponding to the historic county of Cardiganshire. During the second half of the first millennium Ceredigion was a minor kingdom. It has been administered as a county since 1282. Cere ...

instead, but was unsuccessful. He then stood again for Cardigan Boroughs at a by-election in May 1729, which resulted in a double return. The House of Commons awarded the seat to Powell’s opponent and also disfranchised the additional freemen which Powell had created at Tregaron, thus destroying his interest. Nanteos (36850496943)

Powell succeeded to Nanteos on the death of his father in 1738, and almost immediately set about rebuilding the mansion. Thomas and Mary Powell laid the foundation stone on 3 May 1739. The History of Nanteos – Timelne
/ref> At the

1741 general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

, Powell stood at Cardiganshire again. He was defeated in the poll but was returned as MP on petition on 22 March 1742. He voted regularly against the Government and retired at the 1747 general election. Powell died in the street of an apoplectic fit on 17 November 1752. The estate passed to his brother Rev. William Powell, who completed the rebuilding of the house.

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External links

Art UK: ''Thomas Powell of Nanteos (c.1701–1752) and His Wife Mary''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Powell, Thomas 1700s births 1752 deaths Members of the Middle Temple Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Welsh constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 British MPs 1741–1747