Gwendolen Florence Mary Guinness, Countess of Iveagh (''née'' Onslow; 22 July 1881 – 16 February 1966) was an

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aristocrat and

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politician. She was, by marriage, a member of the Guinness brewing dynasty.

Early life

She was the daughter of William Hillier Onslow, 4th Earl of Onslow (1853–1911), and Florence Coulston Onslow, née Gardner (1853–1934).

Marriage and career

She was married to the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Southend, Rupert Guinness, 2nd Earl of Iveagh. In 1927, he ceased to be an MP when he succeeded to his father's earldom. The Countess of Iveagh, as Gwendolen Guinness was now known, won the Southend by-election on 19 November 1927 to replace her husband as MP. She received 54.6% of the vote at that election and increased it at the 1931 general election. She served until her retirement at the 1935 general election. When she retired in 1935, she was succeeded as MP by Henry "Chips" Channon, the husband of her eldest daughter, Honor Guinness. Another son-in-law, Alan Lennox-Boyd, was an MP (for Mid Bedfordshire 1931–60, and thus became, with Gwendolen, the first mother- and son-in-law pair of MPs.

Clandon Park House

In 1956 she presented her

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childhood home, Clandon Park House, to the

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Titles

*1881 – 1903: The Lady Gwendolen Florence Mary Onslow *1903 – 1919: The Lady Gwendolyn Guinness *1919 – 1927: Viscountess Elveden *1927 – 1966: The Right Honourable The Countess of Iveagh

References

Sources

* Martin Pugh, "Guinness, Gwendolen Florence Mary, countess of Iveagh (1881–1966)", ''

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'', Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 27 May 2007

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Iveagh, Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of 1881 births 1966 deaths Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies Female members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for English constituencies British countesses Daughters of British earls Gwendolen Guinness, Countess of Iveagh Gwendolen UK MPs 1924–1929 UK MPs 1929–1931 UK MPs 1931–1935 20th-century British women politicians 20th-century English women 20th-century English people