William Lowndes (1 November 1652 – 20 January 1724) was an English Whig politician who sat in the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

and

British House of Commons The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. The House of Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 memb ...

from 1695 to 1724. He served as

Secretary to the Treasury In the United Kingdom, there are several Secretaries to the Treasury, who are Treasury ministers nominally acting as secretaries to HM Treasury. The origins of the office are unclear, although it probably originated during Lord Burghley's tenure ...

during the reigns of

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 1650 – 8 March 1702), also known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

and

Anne, Queen of Great Britain Anne (6 February 1665 – 1 August 1714) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England, List of Scottish monarchs, Scotland, and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 8 March 1702, and List of British monarchs, Queen of Great Britain and Irel ...

Early life

Lowndes was born in

Winslow, Buckinghamshire Winslow is a market town and civil parish in north Buckinghamshire, England, within the Buckinghamshire Council unitary authority area. It has a population of just over 4,400. It is located approximately south-east of Buckingham, and south-w ...

on 1 November 1652. He was the son of Robert Lowndes and his second wife Elizabeth FitzWilliam. His father was descended from the Lowndes of Overton, Smallwood, and his grandfather had moved south to Buckinghamshire; other relatives settled in the

Province of South Carolina The Province of South Carolina, originally known as Clarendon Province, was a province of the Kingdom of Great Britain that existed in North America from 1712 to 1776. It was one of the five Southern colonies and one of the Thirteen Colonies i ...

. Lowndes was educated at the free school in

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

. He joined

HM Treasury His Majesty's Treasury (HM Treasury or HMT), and informally referred to as the Treasury, is the Government of the United Kingdom’s economic and finance ministry. The Treasury is responsible for public spending, financial services policy, Tax ...

as a clerk, and eventually acquired ownership of Bury Manor in

Chesham Chesham ( , ) is a market town and civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom, south-east of the county town of Aylesbury, about north-west of Charing Cross, central London, and part of the London metropolitan area, London ...

in 1687.

Political career

Lowndes was returned unopposed as a Member of Parliament for Seaford in Sussex, a "limb" of the

Cinque Ports The confederation of Cinque Ports ( ) is a historic group of coastal towns in south-east England – predominantly in Kent and Sussex, with one outlier (Brightlingsea) in Essex. The name is Old French, meaning "five harbours", and alludes to ...

, at the 1695 general election. He was returned unopposed for Seaford for every election until 1715. He served as chairman of the

Committee of Ways and Means A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

, becoming known throughout Britain as "

Ways and Means A ways and means committee is a government body that is charged with reviewing and making recommendations for government budgets. Because the raising of revenue is vital to carrying out governmental operations, such a committee is tasked with fi ...

Lowndes".

Lowndes also became Secretary to the Treasury in 1695. His ''Report containing an essay for the amendment of the silver coins'', written during the crisis of 1695, was answered by

John Locke John Locke (; 29 August 1632 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.) – 28 October 1704 (Old Style and New Style dates, O.S.)) was an English philosopher and physician, widely regarded as one of the most influential of the Enlightenment thi ...

, whose views on the reform of the currency prevailed. He became wealthy as a result of holding office in the Treasury. In 1700, he built

Winslow Hall Winslow Hall is a country house, now in the centre of the small town of Winslow, Buckinghamshire, England. Built in 1700, it was sited in the centre of the town, with a public front facing the highway and a garden front that still commanded i ...

in Winslow, Buckinghamshire. Around this period Lowndes was painted twice by Sir

Godfrey Kneller Sir Godfrey Kneller, 1st Baronet (born Gottfried Kniller; 8 August 1646 – 19 October 1723) was a German-born British painter. The leading Portrait painting, portraitist in England during the late Stuart period, Stuart and early Georgian eras ...

(1646–1723), and by contemporary painter Richard Philips (1681–1741) whose portrait is in the collection of the Bank of England. Lowndes originated the funded system and rose to great power and influence in Parliament. In recognition of his service, Queen Anne conferred upon him the office of Auditor of the Land Revenue for life, in reversion to his sons, with an augmentation to his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

. In 1712 Lowndes rebuilt Chesham's manor house, The Bury, immediately to the south of St Mary's Church, Chesham. The building still stands today, and currently serves as an office building. At the 1715 general election Lowndes was returned unopposed as MP for

St Mawes St Mawes () is a village on the end of the Roseland Peninsula, in the eastern side of Falmouth, Cornwall, Falmouth harbour, on the south coast of Cornwall, England. The village, formerly two separate hamlets, lies on the east bank of the Carri ...

in Cornwall in the first Parliament of King George I, but stood unsuccessfully for

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

in 1722. Shortly afterwards, he was returned in a by-election on 27 October 1722 as MP for East Looe, also in Cornwall, after that constituency was vacated by

Horace Walpole Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (; 24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797), better known as Horace Walpole, was an English Whig politician, writer, historian and antiquarian. He had Strawberry Hill House built in Twickenham, southwest London ...

when he decided to stand for

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...

instead. In 1723 Lowndes bought the

freehold Freehold may refer to: In real estate *Freehold (law), the tenure of property in fee simple * Customary freehold, a form of feudal tenure of land in England *Parson's freehold, where a Church of England rector or vicar of holds title to benefice ...

reversion of

leasehold A leasehold estate is an ownership of a temporary right to hold land or property in which a Lease, lessee or a tenant has rights of real property by some form of title (property), title from a lessor or landlord. Although a tenant does hold right ...

property he owned in

St. James's St James's is a district of Westminster, and a central district in the City of Westminster, London, forming part of the West End. The area was once part of the northwestern gardens and parks of St. James's Palace and much of it is still owned ...

and

Knightsbridge Knightsbridge is a residential and retail district in central London, south of Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park. It is identified in the London Plan as one of two international retail centres in London, alongside the West End of London, West End. ...

, in areas now known as Lowndes Square and Lowndes Street. The expression "Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves" is attributed to him.Quoted in a letter by

Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield (22 September 169424 March 1773) was a British statesman, diplomat, man of letters, and an acclaimed wit of his time. Early life He was born in London to Philip Stanhope, 3rd Earl of Chesterfi ...

, dated 6 November 1747; se
John Bartlett's ''Familiar Quotations''
10th edition, 1919.

Death and legacy

Lowndes' death was announced in the House of Commons by Walpole, saying ''The House had lost a very useful Member, and the public as able and honest a servant as ever the Crown had''. Lowndes married four times: #Elizabeth Harsnett, daughter of Sir Roger Harsnett (she died in 1680) #Jane Hopper in 1683 (she died in 1685) #Elizabeth Martyn, daughter of Richard Martyn (she died 1689) #Rebecca Shales, daughter of John Shales. Rebecca was a descendant of

Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu (also written Montague or Montacute; circa 1492 – January 1539), was an English nobleman, the only holder of the title Baron Montagu under its 1514 creation, and one of the relatives whom King Henry VIII of ...

, the eldest son of the

Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury Margaret Plantagenet, Countess of Salisbury (14 August 1473 – 27 May 1541), was the only surviving daughter of George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (a brother of Kings Edward IV and Richard III) and his wife Isabel Neville. As a result of Ma ...

; she was the daughter of

George, Duke of Clarence George Plantagenet, Duke of Clarence (21 October 144918 February 1478), was the sixth child and third surviving son of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York, and Cecily Neville, and the brother of English kings Edward IV and Richard III. He pl ...

, and so niece of

King Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

. Lowndes had children with each of his wives, 25 children in all. His offspring were also fruitful: one son had 16 children, including four sets of twins in four years; a grandson had 10 children. He was succeeded by his son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

, who inherited Winslow Hall and became both High Sheriff and MP for Buckinghamshire. William Lowndes, a son by his third wife, followed him as an Auditor of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer in the 1760s. In 2020, Lowndes was a character in the

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or ru ...

Assassain's Creed Podcast, Assassain's Creed Gold. Lowndes was voiced by British voice actor Nicholas Le Prevost.

References

* Stephen B Baxter, ''The Development of the Treasury, 1660–1702'' (1957) * Clive Foxell,"The Lowndes Chesham Estate – The Early Photographs" (2011)

External links

Family tree
''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', 15 September 1907 * ttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/mike.lowndes/lowndes/overton.html The Lowndes of Overtonbr>Lowndes heraldry (Arms)Full transcription of William Lowndes' will on Winslow History website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lowndes, William 1652 births 1724 deaths British MPs 1707–1708 British MPs 1708–1710 British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 British MPs 1715–1722 British MPs 1722–1727 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies People educated at Eton College People from Winslow, Buckinghamshire Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall English MPs 1695–1698 English MPs 1698–1700 English MPs 1701 English MPs 1701–1702 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707

Early life

Political career

Death and legacy

See also

References

External links