Edward Southwell Sr. PC (Ire) (4 September 1671 – 4 December 1730) was an

Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. They mostly belong to the Anglican Church of Ireland, which was the State rel ...

lawyer and politician.

Early life

He was the second but only surviving son of Sir Robert Southwell of

Kings Weston Kingsweston or Kings Weston is a suburban neighbourhood in the city of Bristol, England. It is located in the northwest of the city, in the Avonmouth and Lawrence Weston electoral ward and the Bristol North West parliamentary constituency. The ...

, near Bristol. He was educated at Kensington School,

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn, commonly known as Lincoln's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for Barrister, barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister ...

(1686) and

Merton College, Oxford Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the 126 ...

(1687).

Career

He served in a number of high public offices including Chief Prothonotary of the Common Pleas in Ireland (1692–1700), clerk of the Privy Council (1693 to death), judge of the

Admiralty court Admiralty courts, also known as maritime courts, are courts exercising jurisdiction over all admiralty law, maritime contracts, torts, injuries, and offenses. United Kingdom England and Wales Scotland The Scottish court's earliest records, ...

and vice-admiral of Munster (1699 to death). He was several times joint commissioner of the Privy Seal (1701–1702, 1715 and 1716). He was elected a

Fellow of the Royal Society Fellowship of the Royal Society (FRS, ForMemRS and HonFRS) is an award granted by the Fellows of the Royal Society of London to individuals who have made a "substantial contribution to the improvement of natural science, natural knowledge, incl ...

in 1692 and twice served on their council. He sat in 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, ...

for

Kinsale Kinsale ( ; ) is a historic port and fishing town in County Cork, Ireland. Located approximately south of Cork (city), Cork City on the southeast coast near the Old Head of Kinsale, it sits at the mouth of the River Bandon, and has a populatio ...

from 1692 to 1699, for

Dublin University The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

from 1703 to 1713 and then again for Kinsale from 1713 to his death. In 1702 Southwell succeeded his father as Principal Secretary of State (Ireland) and was appointed to the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

the same year. Both appointments were for life. He sat in the

House of Commons of England The House of Commons of England was the lower house of the Parliament of England (which Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542, incorporated Wales) from its development in the 14th century to the union of England and Scotland in 1707, when it was re ...

and the

House of Commons of Great Britain The House of Commons of Great Britain was the lower house of the Parliament of Great Britain between 1707 and 1801. In 1707, as a result of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union of that year, it replaced the House of Commons of England and the Pa ...

between 1702 and 1715 as MP for

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is grown principally in an area from Eastern and Northern Europe into Russia. It is much more tolerant of cold weather and poor soil than o ...

Tregony Tregony (), sometimes in the past Tregoney, is a village and former civil parishes in England, civil parish, now in the parish of Tregony with Cuby, in Cornwall, England, United Kingdom. It lies on the River Fal. In the village there is a post o ...

and Preston.

Personal life

He had married Elizabeth Cromwell, 8th Baroness Cromwell, the daughter and heiress of

Vere Essex Cromwell, 4th Earl of Ardglass Vere Essex Cromwell, 4th Earl of Ardglass PC (I), (2 October 1625 – 26 November 1687) was an English nobleman, son of Thomas Cromwell, 1st Earl of Ardglass and Elizabeth Meverell. He was the last direct male descendant of Henry VIII's ch ...

and Catherine Hamilton. Before her death in 1709, they were the parents of: * Edward Southwell (1705–1755), who married Lady Katherine Watson, a daughter of

Edward Watson, Viscount Sondes , issue-link = , issue-pipe = , full name = , native_name = , styles = , other_titles = , noble family = Watson , house-type = , father = Lewis Watson, 1st Earl of Rockingham , mother = Lady Catherine Sondes , birth_name = , bi ...

and Lady Katherine ( Tufton), in 1729. In 1712 he commissioned Sir

John Vanbrugh Sir John Vanbrugh (; 24 January 1664 (baptised) – 26 March 1726) was an English architect, dramatist and herald, perhaps best known as the designer of Blenheim Palace and Castle Howard. He wrote two argumentative and outspoken Restor ...

to build

Kings Weston House Kings Weston House () is a historic building in Kings Weston Lane, Kingsweston, Bristol, England. Built during the early 18th century, it was remodelled several times, most recently in the mid-19th century. The building was owned by several ge ...

in Kingsweston, Bristol. After the death of his first wife, he married Anne Blathwayt (1691–1717), daughter of

William Blathwayt William Blathwayt (or Blathwayte) (1649 – 16 August 1717) was an English diplomat, public official and Whig politician who sat in the English and British House of Commons between 1685 and 1710. He established the War Office as a department of ...

Dyrham Park Dyrham Park () is a baroque English country house in an ancient deer park near the village of Dyrham in South Gloucestershire, England. The house, with the attached orangery and stable block, is a Grade I listed building, while the park is Gr ...

, Gloucestershire, in 1716. Sadly, she died the following year. He died in 1730 and was buried at Kingsweston. His 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 ...

from his first marriage, succeeded in turn to the Secretaryship and to the Kings Weston estate.

Descendants

Through his son Edward, he was a grandfather of Edward Southwell, who later became the 20th

Baron de Clifford Baron de Clifford is a title in the Peerage of England. It was created in 1299 for Robert de Clifford (''c.''1274–1314), feudal baron of Clifford in Herefordshire, feudal baron of Skipton in Yorkshire and feudal baron of Appleby in Westmo ...

References

1671 births 1730 deaths People from Gloucestershire (before 1904) Alumni of Merton College, Oxford Members of Lincoln's Inn 17th-century Anglo-Irish people 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Irish MPs 1692–1693 Irish MPs 1695–1699 Irish MPs 1703–1713 Irish MPs 1713–1714 Irish MPs 1715–1727 Irish MPs 1727–1760 English MPs 1702–1705 English MPs 1705–1707 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1707–1708 Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for constituencies in Cornwall British MPs 1710–1713 British MPs 1713–1715 Chief secretaries for Ireland Fellows of the Royal Society Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Dublin University Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Cork constituencies Prothonotaries {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub