Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt PC (I) (19 August 1697 – 21 October 1751) 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 ...

politician and peer.

Early life

Powerscourt was the son of Edward Wingfield, MP for

County Sligo County Sligo ( , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region and is part of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. Sligo is the administrative capital and largest town in ...

, and his wife, Eleanor Gore, a daughter of Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet. He was a descendant of the uncle of Folliott Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt.

Career

He sat in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

as the Member of Parliament for Boyle between 1727 and 1743. On 4 February 1743 he was elevated to the

Peerage of Ireland 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 ...

as Viscount Powerscourt, of Powerscourt in

County Wicklow County Wicklow ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The last of the traditional 32 counties, having been formed as late as 1606 in Ireland, 1606, it is part of the Eastern and Midland Region and the Provinces ...

, and Baron Wingfield, of Wingfield in

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

, and he 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 ...

. In 1746 he was made a member of the

Privy Council of Ireland His or Her Majesty's Privy Council in Ireland, commonly called the Privy Council of Ireland, Irish Privy Council, or in earlier centuries the Irish Council, was the institution within the Dublin Castle administration which exercised formal executi ...

. Powerscourt was responsible for commissioning the German architect,

Richard Cassels Richard Cassels (1690 – 1751), also known as Richard Castle, was an architect who ranks with Edward Lovett Pearce as one of the greatest architects working in Ireland in the 18th century. Cassels was born in 1690 in Kassel, Germany. Although ...

, to carry out extensive remodelling work on Powerscourt House between 1731 and 1741.History – Powerscourt Estate
(Retrieved 5 October 2016).

Personal life

Edward 2nd Viscount Powerscourt - Circle of Francis Cotes

On 30 August 1721 Anne Usher, a daughter of Christopher Usher, of Usher's Quay, Dublin. After her death, he married Dorothy Beresford Rowley (–1785) on 13 April 1727. His second wife was a daughter of Hercules Rowley, of Summer Hill, and the former Frances Upton (a younger daughter of Arthur Upton, of Castle Upton). Together they had four children, including: * Hon. Frances Wingfield (1728–1794), who married

John Gore, 1st Baron Annaly John Gore, 1st Baron Annaly Privy Council of Ireland, PC (Ire) (2 March 1718 – 3 April 1784) was an Ireland, Irish politician and peer. Biography He was the second son of George Gore (judge), George Gore, judge of the Court of Common Pleas ...

, in 1747. *

Edward Wingfield, 2nd Viscount Powerscourt Edward Wingfield, 2nd Viscount Powerscourt (23 October 1729 – 6 May 1764), styled The Honourable Edward Wingfield between 1744 and 1751, was an Anglo-Irish peer and politician. Biography Wingfield was the son of Richard Wingfield, 1st Visco ...

(1729–1764), an MP for Stockbridge who died unmarried in 1764. *

Richard Wingfield, 3rd Viscount Powerscourt Richard Wingfield, 3rd Viscount Powerscourt (24 December 1730 – 8 August 1788) was an Anglo-Irish Anglo-Irish people () denotes an ethnic, social and religious grouping who are mostly the descendants and successors of the English Protest ...

(1730–1788), an MP for

who married Lady Amelia Stratford, daughter of John Stratford, 1st Earl of Aldborough, in 1760. * Hon. Isabella Wingfield (d. 1808), who married Sir Charles Style, 5th Baronet, in 1770. Lord Powerscourt died on 21 October 1751. He was succeeded in his titles by his eldest son,

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

. Edward was in turn succeeded by the first Viscount's second son,

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powerscourt, Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount 1697 births 1751 deaths 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Irish House of Lords Members of the Privy Council of Ireland Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George II Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Roscommon constituencies