James Hewitt, 2nd Viscount Lifford (27 October 1750 – 15 April 1830), 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 ...

peer and

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

clergyman. Hewitt was the eldest son of

James Hewitt, 1st Viscount Lifford James Hewitt, 1st Viscount Lifford (28 April 1712 – 28 April 1789) was an Anglo-Irish politician, lawyer and judge. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1767 to 1789. Background Hewitt was the son of a Coventry draper, William Hewitt ...

, and his first wife Mary Rhys Williams. The Hewitt family came originally from

Coventry Coventry ( or rarely ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands county, in England, on the River Sherbourne. Coventry had been a large settlement for centurie ...

: James' father was sent to Ireland in 1767 as

Lord Chancellor of Ireland The Lord High Chancellor of Ireland, commonly known as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland, was the highest ranking judicial office in Ireland until the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922. From 1721 until the end of 1800, it was also the hi ...

. Despite much criticism of his appointment, he proved to be an outstanding success in the office, and for many years afterwards, he was fondly remembered by the

Irish Bar The Bar of Ireland () is the professional association of barristers for Ireland, with over 2,000 members. It is based in the Law Library, with premises in Dublin and Cork. It is governed by the General Council of the Bar of Ireland, commonly c ...

as "the great Lord Lifford". Mary died in 1765, and her widower in the following year remarried Ambrosia Bayley, a noted beauty who became very popular in Ireland. The younger James was educated at

Trinity College, Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Univ ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. On 28 September 1789, he succeeded to his father's titles and assumed his seat in the

Irish House of Lords The Irish House of Lords was the upper house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from medieval times until the end of 1800. It was also the final court of appeal of the Kingdom of Ireland. It was modelled on the House of Lords of Englan ...

.John Debrett
''Debrett's Peerage of England, Scotland, and Ireland''
(1840), p.449. He was

Dean of Armagh The Dean of Armagh in the Church of Ireland is the dean of the Anglican St Patrick's Cathedral, the cathedral of the Diocese of Armagh and the metropolitan cathedral of the Province of Armagh, located in the town of Armagh. Shane Forster h ...

between 1796 and his death in 1830.

Marriages, children, & succession

He married, firstly, Henrietta Judith Pomeroy, daughter of

Arthur Pomeroy, 1st Viscount Harberton Arthur Pomeroy, 1st Viscount Harberton (16 January 1723 – 9/11 April 1798) was an Anglo-Irish politician. He was born in Cork, the eldest son of the Rev John Pomeroy, Archdeacon of Cork, and his wife Elizabeth Donnellan of Cloghan, County Ros ...

and Mary Colley, on 25 July 1776. She died just two years later, and Hewitt married Alicia Oliver on 23 December 1781. Together they had two children. He was succeeded by his eldest son, also called James.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lifford, James Hewitt, 2nd Viscount 1750 births 1830 deaths Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Alumni of Trinity College Dublin 18th-century Anglo-Irish people 19th-century Anglo-Irish people Deans of Armagh Members of the Irish House of Lords Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland