Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor (18 August 1719 – 20 May 1781), was an Irish politician and peer.

Background

He was the only surviving son of Michael Ward of

Castle Ward Castle Ward is an 18th-century National Trust property located near the village of Strangford, in County Down, Northern Ireland, in the townland of the same name. It overlooks Strangford Lough and is 7 miles from Downpatrick and 1.5 miles fro ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, one of the justices of the

Court of King's Bench The Court of King's Bench, formally known as The Court of the King Before the King Himself, was a court of common law in the English legal system. Created in the late 12th to early 13th century from the '' curia regis'', the King's Bench initi ...

, and his wife Anne Catharina Hamilton, daughter of James Hamilton of Bangor and Lady Sophia Mordaunt.

Life and career

Ward entered the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

in 1745, representing

, the same constituency his father had represented, until 1770, when he was raised to the

Peerage of Ireland The peerage of Ireland consists of those Peerage, titles of nobility created by the English monarchs in their capacity as Lordship of Ireland, Lord or Monarchy of Ireland, King of Ireland, or later by monarchs of the United Kingdom of Great B ...

as Baron Bangor, of Castle Ward, in the County of Down. In 1761, he was also elected for

Killyleagh Killyleagh (; ) is a village and civil parish in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is on the A22 road between Belfast and Downpatrick, on the western side of Strangford Lough. It had a population of 2,787 people in the 2021 Census. It is bes ...

and in 1768 for Bangor, however, chose not to sit both times. Ward was further honoured in 1781, when he was created Viscount Bangor, of Castle Ward, in the County of Down.

Family

In December 1747, he married Lady Ann Magill, daughter of John Bligh, 1st Earl of Darnley, and his wife

Theodosia Bligh, 10th Baroness Clifton Theodosia Bligh, 10th Baroness Clifton (''née'' Lady Theodosia Hyde; 9 November 169530 July 1722), was an English peeress. Life Baroness Clifton was the third child and second daughter of Edward Hyde, 3rd Earl of Clarendon and Katherine Hy ...

(the widow of Robert Magill of Gill Hall), and had by her four sons and four daughters: *

Nicholas Ward, 2nd Viscount Bangor Nicholas Ward, 2nd Viscount Bangor (5 December 1750 – 11 September 1827), styled The Honourable from 1770 until 1781, was an Irish politician and peer. He was the eldest son of Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount Bangor and his wife Lady Ann Bligh, dau ...

(1750–1827) *John Ward, died young *Hon. Edward Ward (1753–1812) *Hon. Robert Ward (1754–1831) *Hon. Anna Catharine Ward *Hon. Sophia Ward *Hon. Amelia Ward, married Rev. Hugh Montgomery *Hon. Harriet Ward Ward died, aged 61, at his seat

. He was succeeded in his titles by his oldest son Nicholas, later placed under disability due to

insanity Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

. Both his third son,

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, and fourth son,

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

, sat in the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

. Ward undertook the reconstruction of Castle Ward in the early 1760s, blending elements of both classical and Gothic architectural styles. This design was a reflection of a compromise between the viscount's preference for classical architecture and his wife's affinity for the Gothic style. Additionally, Ward expanded the estate by acquiring adjoining land and transformed it into a more spacious layout, incorporating features like a deer park.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bangor, Bernard Ward, 1st Viscount 1719 births 1781 deaths Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Members of the Irish House of Lords Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Down constituencies Peers of Ireland created by George III Politicians from County Down

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

Bernhard Bernhard is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name *Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar (1604–1639), Duke of Saxe-Weimar *Bernhard, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen (1901–1984), head of the House of Saxe-Meiningen 1946 ...

People from Bangor, County Down