William Pleydell-Bouverie, 3rd Earl of Radnor (11 May 1779 – 9 April 1869), styled Viscount Folkestone until 1828, was the son of

Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 2nd Earl of Radnor FRS FSA (4 March 1750 – 27 January 1828), styled Hon. Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie from 1761 to 1765 and Viscount Folkestone from 1765 to 1776, was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons fr ...

and Hon. Anne Duncombe.

Career

After studying at the University of Edinburgh and Brasenose College, Oxford, and after a tour of Europe, Folkestone settled at Coleshill, in Berkshire, which remained his favourite home for the rest of his life. In October 1800, he married Lady Catherine Pelham-Clinton, the presumptive heir to the estates of the Duke of Newcastle. Her first cousin,

Lord Castlereagh Robert Stewart, 2nd Marquess of Londonderry, (18 June 1769 – 12 August 1822), usually known as Lord Castlereagh, derived from the courtesy title Viscount Castlereagh ( ) by which he was styled from 1796 to 1821, was an Anglo-Irish politician ...

, was one of the witnesses. Lady Folkestone died after giving birth to a still-born daughter in 1804, but their only surviving child succeeded as the Pelham-Clinton heir until the Duchess of Newcastle gave birth to a son in 1811.

The Advanced Radical

Folkestone first entered the House of Commons for his father's pocket borough of Downton in 1801, switching to Salisbury in 1802. In parliament, he immediately became a strong opponent of the ministry of Henry Addington, and specifically of Addington's negotiations for peace with France. When Addington's ministry fell in April 1804, Folkestone continued in opposition to Pitt. By now he was close to the radical pamphleteer,

William Cobbett William Cobbett (9 March 1763 – 18 June 1835) was an English pamphleteer, journalist, politician, and farmer born in Farnham, Surrey. He was one of an agrarian faction seeking to reform Parliament, abolish "rotten boroughs", restrain foreign ...

, with whom he campaigned against corruption in government through the impeachment of Lord Melville and the prosecution of

Lord Wellesley Richard Colley Wellesley, 1st Marquess Wellesley, (20 June 1760 – 26 September 1842) was an Anglo-Irish politician and colonial administrator. He was styled as Viscount Wellesley until 1781, when he succeeded his father as 2nd Earl of ...

for his conduct as governor-general of India. The climax of their campaign was the attempt to impeach the commander-in-chief, the Duke of York, whose former mistress,

Mary Anne Clarke Mary Anne Clarke (born Mary Anne Thompson; 3 April 1776 – 21 June 1852) was the mistress of Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany., retrieved 24 November 2018 Their relationship began in 1803, while he was Commander-in-Chief of the arm ...

, had been selling commissions. By the time of the Duke's resignation in March 1809, Folkestone was emerging as the leader of the younger radicals in the Commons and featured in several of Gillray's cartoons. However, in the summer of 1810, when Mrs Clarke published some of his letters to her that showed the easy intimacy that had existed between them, his reputation – and that of the radicals - was seriously compromised. It was some years before Folkestone returned to take a leading role in the opposition to the government of

Lord Liverpool Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool, (7 June 1770 – 4 December 1828) was a British Tory statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1812 to 1827. He held many important cabinet offices such as Foreign Secret ...

. However, by 1816, with increasing distress in the country, he was back, challenging the government's plans to raise a large standing army to suppress dissent and to continue with the income tax in order to pay for it, and opposing the suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act and the introduction of the Seditious Meetings Act. He was however a lonely figure in the Commons. As one member wrote, "there is literally no one but Folkestone who comes into the line and fights".

Parliamentary Reform

The plight of the rural and urban poor, and the repressive measures taken against them by the government, drove Folkestone finally in 1821 to publicly advocate a reform of parliament. It was this, and the question of

Catholic emancipation Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in the kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland, and later the combined United Kingdom in the late 18th century and early 19th century, that involved reducing and removing many of the restricti ...

, that occupied him during the somnolent parliamentary years of the 1820s. On 27 January 1828, he succeeded his father as Earl of Radnor and continued his opposition to the Tories in the Lords. At the general election of August 1830, there was radical pressure on him to bring in Cobbett for Downton (which was in his gift), but Radnor feared alienating the conservative Whigs and thus jeopardizing the cause of parliamentary reform. Cobbett was disappointed but they remained close friends and allies and Radnor was delighted when Cobbett was finally returned for Oldham in the election of 1832. The accession of the 'semi-Tory', Lord Grey, in November 1830, did not excite him. He still wanted to see universal suffrage and a secret ballot, but he was prepared to support Grey's measure in order to achieve some sort of reform – albeit a very conservative one. He spoke powerfully on behalf of the bill in the Lords, though its passing resulted in the loss of his two seats at Downton and of his family's interest in Salisbury.

The Poor Law

Radnor's activity during the 1830s was more controversial. He was a lifelong student of political economy, and was deeply influenced by the writings of Adam Smith, Bentham, Malthus and

Ricardo Ricardo is the Spanish and Portuguese cognate of the name Richard. It derived from Proto-Germanic ''*rīks'' 'king, ruler' + ''*harduz'' 'hard, brave'. It may be a given name, or a surname. People Given name *Ricardo de Araújo Pereira, Portugu ...

. Malthus and Ricardo were both hostile to the old system of outdoor relief for the poor, and their ideas were behind the government's Poor Law Amendment Bill which was introduced in the Commons in April 1834, and speedily passed into law. Outdoor relief was to be abolished and workhouses to be built to house the poor. Much to the consternation of Cobbett and his radical admirers, Radnor was a strong advocate of the new system.

Free Trade

It was his readings in political economy that underpinned his final campaign during the 1840s. For many years, tariffs had been imposed on grain imports to protect British farmers from foreign competition. This had the effect of artificially inflating food prices in the interests of landlords. For some years, Radnor had been advocating the repeal of all grain duties, and had made his acceptance of office in Lord Grey's government in 1834 dependent on repeal. As usual, his was a lonely voice in the House of Lords. He remained the only peer who strongly supported repeal throughout the debates that raged between 1839 and 1846, and was accused of inviting the destruction of landed property and of bringing down the civil and religious institutions of the state. In the summer of 1843, he encouraged the Scottish economist,

James Wilson James Wilson may refer to: Politicians and government officials Canada *James Wilson (Upper Canada politician) (1770–1847), English-born farmer and political figure in Upper Canada * James Crocket Wilson (1841–1899), Canadian MP from Quebe ...

, to establish a journal that would campaign for free trade – ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

''. He contributed generously in its difficult early years, and wrote several articles for it on the subject of free trade. In November 1843, at a bye-election in Salisbury, Radnor's younger son by his second marriage,

Edward Pleydell-Bouverie Edward Pleydell-Bouverie PC, FRS (26 April 1818 – 16 December 1889), styled The Honourable from 1828, was a British Liberal politician. He was a member of Lord Palmerston's first administration as Paymaster-General and Vice-President of the ...

, stood unsuccessfully with the support of the major players in the Anti-Corn Law League. Radnor's eldest grandson,

Alfred Buckley Alfred Buckley (13 October 1829 – 15 December 1900) was an English first-class cricketer. The son of the politician Edward Pery Buckley, he was born in October 1829 at the family home New Hall at Bodenham, Wiltshire. He was educated at Eton ...

, wrote to his mother from Eton commiserating on 'Ned's defeat' but was delighted that she had met Messrs Cobden and

Bright Bright may refer to: Common meanings *Bright, an adjective meaning giving off or reflecting illumination; see Brightness *Bright, an adjective meaning someone with intelligence People * Bright (surname) * Bright (given name) *Bright, the stage na ...

and hoped that she would 'improve her acquaintance' with them. With the final repeal of the Corn Laws in June 1846, Radnor, now 67, began to withdraw from public life and spent the remainder of his long life on his estate at Coleshill.

Other Interests

His father was

Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire This is a list of people who have served as Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire. Since 1689, all Lords Lieutenant have also been Custos Rotulorum of Berkshire. Lord-Lieutenants of Berkshire *Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of Suffolk 1545–22 August 1545 *E ...

and he was appointed a deputy lieutenant on 22 November 1801. On 31 March 1803, he was commissioned by his father as a captain in the Royal Berkshire Militia. He resigned on 1 June 1805 having transferred to the

Berkshire Yeomanry The Berkshire Yeomanry was a part time regiment of the British Army formed in 1794 to counter the threat of invasion during the French Revolutionary Wars. It was the Royal County of Berkshire's senior volunteer unit with over 200 years of volunta ...

on 14 March. He returned to the Royal Berkshire Militia as its

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

from 9 December 1812 to August 1817. On 9 February 1828, he succeeded his father as Recorder of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

. Radnor was made a deputy lieutenant of

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

on 9 August 1839 and a vice-lieutenant of the county on 17 August 1839. In 1828, he built a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

providing an easy route between Folkestone harbour and Sandgate. The original toll house remains within the Lower Leas Coastal Park. On either side of the toll road, land was cultivated and grazed. Old field boundaries are still used in the park, and the 'Cow Path' is a reminder of the drove route from The Leas. Radnor served as governor of the French Hospital at the time of its move from Finsbury to the new and imposing hospital building in Victoria Park, Hackney, designed by

Robert Lewis Roumieu Robert Lewis Roumieu (1814 – 1877) otherwise R.L. Roumieu, was a 19th-century English architect whose designs include Milner Square in Islington and an idiosyncratic vinegar warehouse at 33–35 Eastcheap in the City of London. A pupil of B ...

. Successive Earls of Radnor were governors of the hospital from the eighteenth century to 2015.Tessa Murdoch and

Randolph Vigne James Randolph Vigne FSA (1928 – 19 June 2016) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. He was an influential member of the Liberal Party of South Africa, a founding member of the National Committee for Liberation, and the founder of the A ...

with foreword by Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 8th Earl of Radnor, ''The French Hospital in England: Its Huguenot History and Collections'' Cambridge: John Adamson .

Marriage and issue

He married, firstly, Lady Catherine Pelham-Clinton (d. 17 May 1804), only surviving child of

Henry Pelham-Clinton, Earl of Lincoln Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, Earl of Lincoln (5 November 1750 – 18 October 1778) was a short-lived British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1772 to 1778. Lincoln was the second son of the 2nd Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne and b ...

, eldest son & heir of

Henry Pelham-Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle "The Return From Shooting" (1788) by Sir Francis Wheatley depicting The Duke of Newcastle, his friend Colonel Litchfield and the Duke's gamekeeper, Mansell along with four Clumber Spaniels. Henry Fiennes Pelham-Clinton, 2nd Duke of Newcastle-un ...

on 2 October 1800 and had two children: *Lady Catherine Pleydell-Bouverie (8 July 1801 – 21 February 1875), married

Edward Pery Buckley Edward Pery Buckley (7 November 1796 – 28 May 1873) was a British Liberal and Whig politician. Buckley was the son of his namesake, Edward Pery Buckley, and Lady Georgiana West. He married Lady Catherine Pleydell-Bouverie, daughter of Wil ...

& had issue *a stillborn daughter (2 May 1804) He married, secondly, Judith Anne St John-Mildmay, daughter of

Sir Henry St John-Mildmay, 3rd Baronet Sir Henry Paulet St John-Mildmay, 3rd Baronet (30 September 1764 – 11 November 1808), of Dogmersfield Park, Hampshire, was an English politician. Life St John was the only son of Sir Henry Paulet St John, Bt and his wife Dorothea Maria Tuc ...

on 24 May 1814 and had six children: * Jacob Pleydell-Bouverie, 4th Earl of Radnor (18 September 1815 – 11 March 1889) *Hon. Ann Maria Pleydell-Bouverie (16 January 1817 – 18 July 1825) *Rt. Hon.

(26 April 1818 – 16 December 1889) *Lady Jane Harriet Pleydell-Bouverie (April 1819 – 7 June 1903), married William Ellice * Lady Mary Pleydell-Bouverie (22 December 1825 – 24 October 1900), married

James Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance James Plaisted Wilde, 1st Baron Penzance, (12 July 1816 – 9 December 1899) was a noted British judge and rose breeder who was also a proponent of the Baconian theory that the works usually attributed to William Shakespeare were in fact writt ...

*a stillborn son (26 June 1832)

References

External links