John Dawnay, 4th Viscount Downe (9 April 1728 – 21 December 1780), was a British peer and Whig politician.

Background

Dawnay was the younger son of the Honourable John Dawnay, eldest son of

Henry Dawnay, 2nd Viscount Downe Henry Dawnay, 2nd Viscount Downe (7 June 1664 – 21 May 1741), styled The Honourable Henry Dawnay between 1681 and 1695, was an English Tory politician who sat in the English House of Commons between 1690 and 1707 and in the British House of Co ...

. His mother was Charlotte Louisa, daughter of Robert Pleydell, while Henry Dawnay, 3rd Viscount Downe, was his elder brother.

Political career

Dawnay was returned to Parliament for

Cirencester Cirencester ( , ; see #Pronunciation, below for more variations) is a market town and civil parish in the Cotswold District of Gloucestershire, England. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames. It is the List of ...

in 1754. In 1760 he succeeded in the viscountcy after the death of his elder brother in the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

. However, as this was an

Irish peerage 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 ...

it did not entitle him to a seat in the English

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 ...

and consequently did not prevent him from remaining a member of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

. In 1768 he was returned for Malton, a seat he held until 1774.

Family

Lord Downe married Lora, daughter of William Burton, in 1763. They lived at

Cowick Hall Cowick Hall is a 17th-century Georgian architecture, Georgian English country house, country house in the town of Snaith, located between the villages of East Cowick, East and West Cowick, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The house is G ...

in Yorkshire and had at least seven children: *

John Dawnay, 5th Viscount Downe John Christopher Burton Dawnay, 5th Viscount Downe (15 November 1764 – 18 February 1832), styled The Honourable John Dawnay until 1780, was a British Whig (British political faction), Whig politician and peer. Dawnay was the eldest son of Jo ...

(1764–1832) * William Henry Pleydell Dawnay, died young * Hon. Catherine Dawnay (23 August 1768 – 9 July 1821) *

William Dawnay, 6th Viscount Downe William Henry Dawnay, 6th Viscount Downe (20 August 1772 – 23 May 1846), styled The Honourable William Henry Dawnay until 1832, was an English clergyman and Irish peer. William was the second son of John Dawnay, 4th Viscount Downe. Educated a ...

(1772–1846) * Hon. Lora Dawnay (b. 17 June 1774), died young * Hon. Marmaduke Dawnay (26 July 1777 – 1 October 1851), later (1824) Marmaduke Langley * Hon. Rev. Thomas Dawnay (30 May 1779 – 1 January 1850), rector of Ashwell Lord Downe died in December 1780, aged 62, and was succeeded by his eldest son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

. The Viscountess Downe died in April 1812.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downe, John Dawnay, 4th Viscount 1728 births 1780 deaths Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774