Robert Lawley, 1st Baron Wenlock (1768 – 10 April 1834) was a British landowner and politician, the eldest son of

Sir Robert Lawley, 5th Baronet Sir Robert Lawley, 5th Baronet (c. 1736 – 11 March 1793) was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1780 to 1793. Early life Lawley was the only surviving son of Sir Robert Lawley, 4th Baronet, of Canwell Pri ...

and Jane Thompson. Lawley attended the military school at

Brienne The County of Brienne was a medieval county in France centered on Brienne-le-Château. Counts of Brienne * Engelbert I (c. 950 – c. 968) * Engelbert II (c. 968 – c. 990) * Engelbert III (c. 990 – c. 1008) * Engelbert IV (c. 10 ...

, France, at the time

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was there. His seat was Canwell Hall,

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

and he served as

High Sheriff of Staffordshire This is a list of the sheriffs and high sheriffs of Staffordshire. The sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. The sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities as ...

in 1797. In 1793 he married Anna Maria Denison (19 October 1770–20 August 1850), younger daughter of the banker Joseph Denison, but the couple had no children. In 1825 he befriended

John Hollins John William Hollins (16 July 1946 – 14 June 2023) was an English football player and manager. He initially played as a midfielder, before becoming an effective full-back later in his career. Hollins played in the Football League, predomina ...

and they journeyed to Italy together. He was raised to the peerage as Baron Wenlock, of Wenlock in the

County of Salop Shropshire (; abbreviated SalopAlso used officially as the name of the county from 1974–1980. The demonym for inhabitants of the county "Salopian" derives from this name.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West M ...

in 1831. Upon his death in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

on 10 April 1834, the Barony became extinct. He was buried at St Bartholomew Church, Hints in the County of Staffordshire on 19 August 1834.

References

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External links

Text of memorial
* Wenlock, Robert Lawley, 1st Baron Wenlock, Robert Lawley, 1st Baron 01 6 Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Newcastle-under-Lyme UK MPs 1802–1806 UK MPs who were granted peerages High sheriffs of Staffordshire Peers of the United Kingdom created by William IV {{England-UK-MP-stub