Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount Townshend (11 July 1700 – 12 March 1764), known as The Lord Lynn from 1723 to 1738, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British 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. T ...

from 1722 to 1723 when he was

elevated to the House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster ...

by writ of acceleration.

Early life

Townshend was the eldest son of the

Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, (; 18 April 167421 June 1738) was an English Whig statesman. He served for a decade as Secretary of State for the Northern Department, 1714–1717, 1721–1730. He directed British foreign policy in c ...

and his first wife Elizabeth Pelham, daughter of

Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham of Laughton Bt ( 1653 – 23 February 1712) was a moderate English Whig politician and Member of Parliament for several constituencies. He is best remembered as the father of two British prime ministers (Hen ...

, MP. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and was admitted at

King's College, Cambridge King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Formally The King's College of Our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge, the college lies beside the River Cam and faces out onto King's Parade in the centre of the cit ...

in 1718. He then undertook 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 tut ...

Career

Portrait of Ethelreda Harrison Jean-Baptiste van Loo

Townsend entered the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons c ...

when he succeeded his uncle as

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) for Great Yarmouth at the 1722 general election. He held the seat until a year later, when he was summoned to the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

through a

writ of acceleration A writ in acceleration, commonly called a writ of acceleration, is a type of writ of summons that enabled the eldest son and heir apparent of a peer with more than one peerage to attend the British or Irish House of Lords, using one of his father ...

in his father's barony of Townshend. As his father was already Lord Townshend, Charles was styled Lord Lynn after the barony's

territorial designation In the United Kingdom, a territorial designation follows modern peerage titles, linking them to a specific place or places. It is also an integral part of all baronetcies. Within Scotland, a territorial designation proclaims a relationship with ...

of Lynn Regis. Townshend then became

Lord of the bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the royal household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household; the term being fir ...

in 1723 until 1727. In 1730 he was appointed

Master of the Jewel Office The Master of the Jewel Office was a position in the Royal Households of England, the Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom. The office holder was responsible for running the Jewel House The Jewel House is a vault housing the British ...

to 1738. Also in 1730 he was appointed

Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk This is an incomplete list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Norfolk. Since 1689, all Lord Lieutenants have also been Custos Rotulorum of Norfolk. * William Parr, 1st Marquess of Northampton, 1549 – *Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Su ...

and

Custos Rotulorum of Norfolk This is a list of people who have served as Custos Rotulorum of Norfolk. * Sir Richard Southwell bef. 1544 – aft. 1547 * Sir James Boleyn bef. 1558–1561 * Sir William Woodhouse bef. 1562–1564 * Sir Christopher Heydon bef. 1573 ...

. He succeeded to his father's titles and estates in 1738. His Lordship erected and endowed at Raynham a

charity school Charity schools, sometimes called blue coat schools, or simply the Blue School, were significant in the history of education in England. They were built and maintained in various parishes by the voluntary contributions of the inhabitants to ...

for clothing and educating thirty boys and twenty girls; the latter to be brought up in spinning.

Family

On 29 May 1723, Townshend married Audrey (Etheldreda) Harrison, the only daughter and heiress of Edward Harrison of Balls Park, Hertfordshire). They separated formally around 1740. Townsend died on 12 March 1764. His surviving children were

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

, later

Marquess Townshend Marquess Townshend is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain held by the Townshend family of Raynham Hall in Norfolk. The title was created in 1787 for George Townshend, 4th Viscount Townshend. History The Townshend family descends from Rog ...

(1724–1807), Charles (1725–1767), and Audrey (died 1781) married to

Robert Orme (soldier) Robert Orme (c.1725 – 1781 or 1790) was a British soldier who took part in the Battle of the Monongahela in July 1755, at the beginning of the French and Indian War, during which he was shot. He served with the young George Washington, with ...

References

4.Townsend--Townshend, 1066-1909: the history, genealogy and alliances of the English and American house of Townsend by Margaret Tagliapietrae (Townsend) Publishdate 1909 {{DEFAULTSORT:Townshend, Charles Townshend, 3rd Viscount 1700 births 1764 deaths 18th-century English nobility People educated at Eton College Lord-Lieutenants of Norfolk Whig (British political party) MPs Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1722–1727 Charles Townshend Alumni of King's College, Cambridge Politics of the Borough of Great Yarmouth Masters of the Jewel Office 3 Freemasons of the Premier Grand Lodge of England