Edward Boscawen, 1st Earl of Falmouth (10 May 1787 – 29 December 1841), known as the Viscount Falmouth between 1808 and 1821, was a British peer and politician.

Background

Falmouth was the son of

George Boscawen, 3rd Viscount Falmouth George Boscawen, 3rd Viscount Falmouth, Privy Council of Great Britain, PC (6 May 1758 – 11 February 1808), was a British army officer and statesman in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. This included service as Captain of the Honoura ...

and Elizabeth Anne, the only daughter of John Crewe, of Cheshire. He was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

and served briefly as an

Ensign Ensign most often refers to: * Ensign (flag), a flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality * Ensign (rank), a navy (and former army) officer rank Ensign or The Ensign may also refer to: Places * Ensign, Alberta, Alberta, Canada * Ensign, Ka ...

in the

Coldstream Guards The Coldstream Guards is the oldest continuously serving regular regiment in the British Army. As part of the Household Division, one of its principal roles is the protection of the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarchy; due to this, it often ...

Career

In the General Election of 1807, Falmouth was elected Member of Parliament for

Truro Truro (; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Cornwall, England; it is the southernmost city in the United Kingdom, just under west-south-west of Charing Cross in London. It is Cornwall's county town, s ...

, standing as a

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

on the day before his 20th birthday. On the death of his father the following year, he resigned both his

seat A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but may also refer to concentrations of power in a wider sense (i.e " seat (legal entity)"). See disambiguation. Types of seat The ...

and his

commission In-Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anot ...

and took up his place in the

House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...

. He used his patronage to appoint his potential brother in law

William John Bankes William John Bankes (11 December 1786 – 15 April 1855) was an English politician, explorer, Egyptologist and adventurer. The second, but first surviving, son of Henry Bankes MP, he was a member of the Bankes family of Dorset and he had Sir Ch ...

as his successor as MP for Truro. In 1821, on the coronation of

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

, he was created Earl of Falmouth. As a member of the Ultra-Tory faction, he was vehemently opposed to

parliamentary reform The Reform Acts (or Reform Bills, before they were passed) are legislation enacted in the United Kingdom in the 19th and 20th century to enfranchise new groups of voters and to redistribute seats in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the U ...

and Catholic emancipation. In 1829 he acted as second to Lord Winchilsea in his famous duel with the

Duke of Wellington Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they ar ...

over the latter issue. He always insisted that he persuaded Winchelsea to fire into the air, and he had certainly prepared an apology, which Wellington accepted. He was the last Recorder of

and the author of a pamphlet on the subject of stannary courts.

Family

Lord Falmouth was married to Anne Frances Bankes (1790–1864), elder daughter of

Henry Bankes Henry Bankes (1757–1834) was an English politician and writer. Life Bankes was the only surviving son of Henry Bankes (died 1776), Henry Bankes and Margaret Wynne (1724–1822). Bankes was the great-great-grandson of Sir John Bankes, Chie ...

of Kingston Lacy estate on 27 August 1810. She was from the old and prominent Bankes family, her brothers were "the exiled"

and George Bankes. He died at Tregothnan in December 1841, aged 54, and was succeeded by his only son, George. After his death, his widow came to stay periodically at Kingston Lacy to help her exiled brother,

(1786-1855) in the reorganisation of their family home. Lady Falmouth lived at 3 Whitehall Gardens, Westminster, until her death in 1864. A philanthropist, she endowed almshouses at Brimpton and a village school at Woolhampton, both in Berkshire.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Falmouth, Edward Boscawen, 1st Earl of 1787 births 1841 deaths Earls in the Peerage of the United Kingdom Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Truro UK MPs 1806–1807 UK MPs who inherited peerages UK MPs who were granted peerages People educated at Eton College Coldstream Guards officers Tory MPs (pre-1834) Ultra-Tory peers

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 ...

Peers of the United Kingdom created by George IV