John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney of St Leonards (21 February 1764 – 20 January 1831) was a British peer and Member of Parliament.


Early life

Townshend was born on 21 February 1764. He was the eldest son of twelve children born to
Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney Thomas Townshend, 1st Viscount Sydney (24 February 1733 – 30 June 1800) was a British politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1754 to 1783 when he was raised to the peerage as Baron Sydney. He held several important Cabinet posts in ...
of St Leonards and the former Elizabeth Powys (1736–1826). His mother was a
Lady of the Bedchamber Lady of the Bedchamber is the title of a lady-in-waiting holding the official position of personal attendant on a British queen regnant or queen consort. The position is traditionally held by the wife of a peer. A lady of the bedchamber would gi ...
to
Queen Charlotte Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Sophia Charlotte; 19 May 1744 – 17 November 1818) was Queen of Great Britain and Ireland as the wife of King George III from their marriage on 8 September 1761 until her death in 1818. The Acts of Un ...
. Two of his brothers were also Members of Parliament, the Hon. Horatio George Powys Townshend and the Hon. William Augustus Townshend. Among his siblings were Hon Mary Elizabeth Townshend, who married
John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham General John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham (9 October 1756 – 24 September 1835) was a British soldier and politician. He spent a lengthy period in the cabinet but is best known for commanding the disastrous Walcheren Campaign of 1809. Chatham wa ...
; Hon. Frances Townshend, who married
George Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor George Talbot Rice, 3rd Baron Dynevor (Dinefwr) (8 October 1765 – 9 April 1852) was a British peer and politician. He was the son of Cecil de Cardonnel, 2nd Baroness Dynevor and George Rice (or Rhys). He was educated at Westminster Schoo ...
; Hon Harriet Katherine Townshend, who married their second cousin
Charles Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch Charles William Henry Montagu-Scott, 4th Duke of Buccleuch and 6th Duke of Queensberry, KT (24 May 1772 – 20 April 1819), styled Earl of Dalkeith until 1812, was a British landowner, amateur cricketer and Tory politician. Background and educ ...
. His paternal grandparents were Hon. Thomas Townshend MP (the second son of
Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend Charles Townshend, 2nd Viscount Townshend, (; 18 April 167421 June 1738) was a British Whig statesman. From 1714 to 1717, and again from 1721 to 1730, he served as Secretary of State for the Northern Department . He directed British foreign po ...
and Hon. Elizabeth Pelham, the only surviving daughter and heiress of
Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham Thomas Pelham, 1st Baron Pelham of Laughton Baronet, Bt ( 1653 – 23 February 1712) was a moderate England, English British Whig Party, Whig politician and Member of Parliament for several constituencies. He is best remembered as the fathe ...
) and the former Albinia Selwyn (daughter and heiress of Col. John Selwyn MP). His maternal grandparents were Richard Powys MP, of
Hintlesham Hall Hintlesham is a small village in Suffolk, England, situated roughly halfway between Ipswich and Hadleigh. It is in the Belstead Brook electoral division of Suffolk County Council. The village is notable for Hintlesham Hall, a 16th-century Gr ...
, and the former Lady Mary Brudenell (the second daughter of
George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan George Brudenell, 3rd Earl of Cardigan (29 September 1685 – 5 July 1732), styled Lord Brudenell between 1698 and 1703, was a British peer. Origins He was the son of Francis Brudenell, Lord Brudenell, son and heir of Robert Brudenell, 2nd Earl ...
). From 1775 to 1781, he was educated at
Eton School Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, followed by
Clare College, Cambridge Clare College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge in Cambridge, England. The college was founded in 1326 as University Hall, making it the second-oldest surviving college of the Unive ...
. He went on the Grand Tour in 1785.


Career

In 1786, he was elected to the
Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...
as the Hon. John Townshend for
Newport, Isle of Wight Newport is the county town of the Isle of Wight, an island county off the south coast of England. The town is slightly north of the centre of the island, located in the civil parish of Newport and Carisbrooke. It has a quay at the head of the n ...
, sitting from 1786 to 1790. He then sat for Whitchurch from 1790 to 1800, where he was listed among opponents of
repeal A repeal (O.F. ''rapel'', modern ''rappel'', from ''rapeler'', ''rappeler'', revoke, ''re'' and ''appeler'', appeal) is the removal or reversal of a law. There are two basic types of repeal; a repeal with a re-enactment is used to replace the law ...
of the
Test Act The Test Acts were a series of penal laws originating in Restoration England, passed by the Parliament of England, that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Catholics and nonconformist Prote ...
in Scotland in 1791. Townshend supported Pitt's administration, voting for his assessed taxes on 4 January 1798, and acting as ministerial teller on 20 June 1798. During his tenure, "he is not known to have uttered a syllable in the House." From 1784 to 1789, he served as the
Under-Secretary of State for Home Affairs Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...
followed by a
Lord of the Admiralty This is a list of lords commissioners of the Admiralty (incomplete before the Restoration, 1660). The lords commissioners of the Admiralty were the members of the Board of Admiralty, which exercised the office of Lord High Admiral when it was ...
from 1789 to 1793. From 1793 to 1800, he was a
Lord of the Treasury In the United Kingdom there are at least six Lords (or Ladies) Commissioners of His Majesty's Treasury, serving as a commission for the ancient office of Treasurer of the Exchequer. The board consists of the First Lord of the Treasury, the Second L ...
. Upon the death of his father in 1800, he inherited his peerage and became a courtier. From 1800 to 1810, he was a
Lord of the Bedchamber Gentleman of the Bedchamber was a title in the Royal Household of the Kingdom of England from the 11th century, later used also in the Kingdom of Great Britain. A Lord of the Bedchamber was a courtier in the Royal Household, the term being fir ...
to
George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...
, while also serving as a Ranger of Hyde Park and Ranger of
St James's Park St James's Park is a urban park in the City of Westminster, central London. A Royal Park, it is at the southernmost end of the St James's area, which was named after a once isolated medieval hospital dedicated to St James the Less, now the ...
from 1807 to his death.


Personal life

He was twice married and both of his wives died in childbirth. His first marriage took place on 13 April 1790 to the Hon. Sophia Southwell, daughter of Sophia (
née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Campbell) Southwell and
Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford Edward Southwell, 20th Baron de Clifford (6 June 1738 – 1 November 1777) was a British politician. Early life Southwell was born on 6 June 1738 as the only son and heir of Lady Katherine Watson and Edward Southwell Jr. (1705–1755). His fa ...
. Before her death on 9 November 1795, they were the parents of two children together: * Hon. Sophia Mary Townshend (d. 1852), who married John Russell, third son of
Lord William Russell Lord William Russell (20 August 1767 – 5 May 1840) was a member of the British aristocratic Russell family and longtime Member of Parliament. He did little to attract public attention after the end of his political career until, in 1840, he wa ...
(himself the third son of
Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock Francis Russell, Marquess of Tavistock (27 September 1739 – 22 March 1767) was a British politician and heir apparent to the dukedom of Bedford until his death in 1767. Early life Russell was born on 27 September 1739. He was the eldest son o ...
), and was the mother of
Edward Russell, 23rd Baron de Clifford Edward Southwell Russell, 23rd Baron de Clifford (30 April 1824 – 6 August 1877) was a British Whig politician. Russell was the son of Commander John Russell, third son of Lord William Russell, and Sophia Coussmaker, Baroness de Clifford. H ...
, a Member of Parliament for
Tavistock Tavistock ( ) is an ancient stannary and market town and civil parish in the West Devon district, in the county of Devon, England. It is situated on the River Tavy, from which its name derives. At the 2011 census, the three electoral wards (N ...
. * Mary Elizabeth Sydney (1794–1847), who married George James Cholmondeley (1752–1830), the son of
Mary Woffington Mary Woffington Cholmondeley (1729 – 4 April 1811) was an Irish socialite of the Georgian era. Her sister was the famous actor Peg Woffington. After a failed attempt at an acting career, Mary married the second son of the Earl of Cholmondel ...
. After his death, she married Charles Marsham, 2nd Earl of Romney. He married a second time, to Lady Caroline Elizabeth Letitia Clements on 27 Mat 1802. Lady Caroline was the third daughter of
Robert Clements, 1st Earl of Leitrim Robert Clements, 1st Earl of Leitrim (25 November 1732 – 27 July 1804)Collen, G.W. (1840)''Debrett's Peerage of Great Britain and Ireland'' London. p. 444. Accessed 5 February 2020. was an Irish nobleman and politician. Son of Cavan Boroug ...
and the former Lady Elizabeth Skeffington (the eldest daughter, by his second wife, of
Clotworthy Skeffington, 1st Earl of Massereene Clotworthy Skeffington, 1st Earl of Massereene Privy Council of Ireland, PC (I) (1715 – 14 September 1757) was an Anglo-Irish peer. Massereene was the son of Clotworthy Skeffington, 4th Viscount Massereene and Lady Catherine Chichester, daught ...
). Before her death on 9 August 1805, they were the parents of one child together: * John Robert Townshend, 1st Earl Sydney (1805–1890), who married Lady Emily Paget (1810–1893), eldest daughter of
Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey Henry William Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey (17 May 1768 – 29 April 1854), styled Lord Paget between 1784 and 1812 and known as the Earl of Uxbridge between 1812 and 1815, was a British Army officer and politician. After serving as a member ...
. Sydney died on 20 January 1831. His death was viewed by the family "as a great release from hopeless suffering".Letter from Lord Chatham to Harriet Hester (Eliot) Pringle, dated 26 January 1831. His titles and estate was inherited by his only son, John, who was created the first Earl Sydney, of Scadbury in the County of Kent on 27 February 1874. As John and his wife had no children, the Earldom, Viscountcy and Barony of Sydney became extinct on his death on 14 February 1890.


References


External links


John Thomas Townshend, 2nd Viscount Sydney (1764-1831), Ranger of Hyde Park and St James's Park
at
National Portrait Gallery, London The National Portrait Gallery (NPG) is an art gallery in London that houses a collection of portraits of historically important and famous British people. When it opened in 1856, it was arguably the first national public gallery in the world th ...
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydney, John Townshend, 2nd Viscount 1764 births 1831 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of Clare College, Cambridge Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1790–1796 British MPs 1796–1800 Lords of the Admiralty Viscounts Sydney John Townshend