William Francis Spencer Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley (31 July 1787 – 16 May 1855), was an English Whig 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. ...

between 1826 and 1837. He was raised to the

Peerage A peerage is a legal system historically comprising various hereditary titles (and sometimes non-hereditary titles) in a number of countries, and composed of assorted noble ranks. Peerages include: Australia * Australian peers Belgium * Belgi ...

in 1838.

Life

John Hoppner, Portrait of Harriet, Viscountess Duncannon with Her Sons (1787)

Ponsonby was the youngest child of 3rd Earl of Bessborough and his wife

Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough Henrietta Ponsonby, Countess of Bessborough (16 June 1761 – 11 November 1821), born Lady Henrietta Frances Spencer (generally called Harriet), was the wife of Frederick Ponsonby, 3rd Earl of Bessborough; the couple were the parents of Lady C ...

. Ponsonby was elected

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

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

in 1826 and held the seat until 1831, when he lost it in a

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

to Lord Ashley. He was then MP for

Knaresborough Knaresborough ( ) is a market and spa town and civil parish in the Borough of Harrogate, in North Yorkshire, England, on the River Nidd. It is east of Harrogate. History Knaresborough is mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086 as ''Chenares ...

between June and December 1832. At the 1832 UK general election he was elected MP for

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and held the seat until 1837. On 10 July 1838 he was created Baron de Mauley, ''of Canford in the

County of Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , Do ...

''. Whilst an MP for Poole, Ponsonby and Benjamin Lester opened Poole's first public library in 1830. When the marriage of his sister Lady Caroline to

William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne, (15 March 177924 November 1848), in some sources called Henry William Lamb, was a British Whig politician who served as Home Secretary (1830–1834) and Prime Minister (1834 and 1835–1841). His first pre ...

, began to break up, he strongly supported Caroline.

Lord David Cecil Lord Edward Christian David Gascoyne-Cecil, CH (9 April 1902 – 1 January 1986) was a British biographer, historian, and scholar. He held the style of "Lord" by courtesy, as a younger son of a marquess. Early life and studies David Cecil was ...

, ''Melbourne'', Pan Books edition 1965, p. 151. Unfortunately he was not noted for tact or intelligence—Melbourne's sister

Emily Lamb, Countess Cowper Emily Temple, Viscountess Palmerston (née Lamb, later Clavering-Cowper; 1787–1869), styled The Honourable Emily Lamb from 1787 to 1805 and Countess Cowper from 1805 to 1839, was a leading figure of the Almack's social set, sister to Prime M ...

, described him as being universally regarded as "an ass and a jackanapes". Ponsonby reminded Melbourne that the Lamb family were socially ''

parvenu A ''parvenu'' is a person who is a relative newcomer to a high-ranking socioeconomic class. The word is borrowed from the French language; it is the past participle of the verb ''parvenir'' (to reach, to arrive, to manage to do something). Orig ...

'', and that his sister had married beneath her; although true, these remarks were so tactless that Melbourne broke off any further dealings with him.

Family

On 8 August 1814, Ponsonby married Lady Barbara Ashley-Cooper (the only daughter and heir of the 5th Earl of Shaftesbury and a co-heir of the medieval Barony of Mauley, 1789–1844). They had three children: * Hon. Charles Frederick Ashley Cooper (1815–1896, later the 2nd Baron de Mauley) * Hon. Frances Anne Georgiana (1817–1910), married

George Kinnaird, 9th Lord Kinnaird George William Fox Kinnaird, 9th Lord Kinnaird, KT, PC (14 April 1807 – 7 January 1878) was a Scottish Whig politician. He served as Master of the Buckhounds under Lord Melbourne from 1839 to 1841. Background Kinnaird was the eldest son of ...

. * Hon. Ashley George John (1831–1898)

References

External links

* 1787 births 1855 deaths Ponsonby, William Whig (British political party) MPs for English constituencies Ponsonby, William

William Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley William Francis Spencer Ponsonby, 1st Baron de Mauley (31 July 1787 – 16 May 1855), was an English Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1826 and 1837. He was raised to the Peerage in 1838. Life Ponsonby was the youngest ch ...

Ponsonby, William Ponsonby, William Ponsonby, William Ponsonby, William Ponsonby, William UK MPs who were granted peerages Fellows of the Royal Society William 1 Peers of the United Kingdom created by Queen Victoria {{England-UK-MP-stub