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

John Dawnay, 4th Viscount Downe 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. His mother was C ...

, by Laura, daughter of William Burton, of Luffenham,

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

. He succeeded his father in the viscountcy in 1780. 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 ...

.thepeerage.com John Christopher Burton Dawnay, 5th Viscount Downe
/ref> He subsequently sat as Member of Parliament for

Petersfield Petersfield is a market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is north of Portsmouth. The town has its own Petersfield railway station, railway station on the Portsmouth Direct line, the mainline rai ...

between 1787 and 1790 and for Wootton Basset between 1790 and 1796. The latter year he was created Baron Dawnay, of Cowick in the County of York, in the

Peerage of Great Britain The Peerage of Great Britain comprises all extant peerages created in the Kingdom of Great Britain between the Acts of Union 1707 and the Acts of Union 1800. It replaced the Peerage of England and the Peerage of Scotland, but was itself repla ...

, which gave him a seat in the House of Lords. Lord Downe was twice married. He married firstly a daughter of Major John Scott of Balconie. After her death in 1798 he married secondly Louisa Maria, daughter of George Welstead, of Apsley,

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

, in 1815. There were no children from the two marriages. Downe died in February 1832, aged 67. The barony of Dawnay died with him while he was succeeded in the viscountcy by his younger brother, Reverend William Henry Dawnay. His widow spent her later years at Bowden Hall in

Upton St Leonards Upton St Leonards is a village in the English county of Gloucestershire. Forming part of the district of Stroud, it is a mile or so north of the A46 road between Stroud and Cheltenham. Facilities The village has two four-star hotels (Hatton ...

, where she endowed the local primary school. The Viscountess Downe died in March 1867.

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Downe, John Dawnay, 5th Viscount 1764 births 1832 deaths British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Great Britain created by George III Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Hereditary peers elected to the House of Commons Whig (British political party) MPs

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 ...