Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet (pronounced "Mews") (28 December 1817 – 1 January 1883), was head of Meux and Co., a London

brewery A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of b ...

, and a Member of Parliament (MP).

Early life

He was educated at

Eton College 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 ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church (, the temple or house, ''wikt:aedes, ædes'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by Henry V ...

. On the death of his father on 7 April 1841, he succeeded to the baronetcy and took over the running of Meux's brewery off the

Tottenham Court Road Tottenham Court Road (occasionally abbreviated as TCR) is a major road in Central London, almost entirely within the London Borough of Camden. The road runs from Euston Road in the north to St Giles Circus in the south; Tottenham Court Road tu ...

(later the

Horse Shoe Brewery The Horse Shoe Brewery was an English brewery in the City of Westminster that was established in 1764 and became a major producer of porter, from 1809 as Henry Meux & Co. It was the site of the London Beer Flood in 1814, which killed eight peo ...

), which was at the time one of the largest producers of

porter Porter may refer to: Companies * Porter Airlines, Canadian airline based in Toronto * Porter Chemical Company, a defunct U.S. toy manufacturer of chemistry sets * Porter Motor Company, defunct U.S. car manufacturer * H.K. Porter, Inc., a locom ...

in London.

Career

He served as

High Sheriff of Hertfordshire The High Sheriff of Hertfordshire was an ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the foundation of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around a thousand years. On 1 April 1974, under the provi ...

in 1845. He was then

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

MP for

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the ...

from 1847 to 1859. By 1855 Meux began showing signs of mental decline and from 1858 he was bedbound with

general paresis of the insane General paresis, also known as general paralysis of the insane (GPI), paralytic dementia, or syphilitic paresis is a severe neuropsychiatric disorder, classified as an organic mental disorder, and is caused by late-stage syphilis and the chr ...

, now known to have been caused by

tertiary syphilis Syphilis () is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium ''Treponema pallidum'' subspecies ''pallidum''. The signs and symptoms depend on the stage it presents: primary, secondary, latent or tertiary. The primary stage classi ...

. He refused to stand down at the March 1857 election and, despite his condition, the Conservatives decided to nominate him rather than risk a contest. He was returned unopposed and the party secured a

pair Pair or PAIR or Pairing may refer to: Government and politics * Pair (parliamentary convention), matching of members unable to attend, so as not to change the voting margin * ''Pair'', a member of the Prussian House of Lords * ''Pair'', the Fren ...

for him for the entire session. On 3 July 1857 he amended his will to leave his entire estate to his wife. His disinherited sisters contested this change and in June 1858 the

Commissioners in Lunacy The Commissioners in Lunacy or Lunacy Commission was a public body established by the Lunacy Act 1845 to oversee asylums and the welfare of mentally ill people in England and Wales. It succeeded the Metropolitan Commissioners in Lunacy. Previou ...

considered whether he had been of sound mind at the time. Evidence of his occasional work and social activity later in 1857 caused the will to be upheld. After his insanity, his business affairs were handled by

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, refers to anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility for the ...

s. In 1870 they bought an estate at East Overton, Wiltshire (now part of

West Overton West Overton is a village and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Marlborough, Wiltshire, Marlborough. The river Kennet runs immediately north of the village, separating it from the A4 road ...

parish), and they later paid for the rebuilding of the parish church. From 1877 he was the owner of

Dauntsey Park House Dauntsey Park House is a Grade II* listed country house in Dauntsey, Wiltshire, England. It is based on a 14th-century manor, remodelled in the late 17th century or early 18th, and altered again c.1800 when it was recased in ashlar Ashlar ...

, near

Malmesbury Malmesbury () is a town and civil parish in north Wiltshire, England, which lies approximately west of Swindon, northeast of Bristol, and north of Chippenham. The older part of the town is on a hilltop which is almost surrounded by the upp ...

in Wiltshire. His son

Henry Bruce Meux Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet (pronounced "Mews") (21 November 1856 – 11 January 1900) was an English baronet, the son of Sir Henry Meux, 2nd Baronet (1817–1883), a brewer and politician. Biography Meux was born in London, educated at E ...

took over the running of the brewery in 1878.

Personal life

He married Lady Louisa Caroline Brudenell-Bruce on 19 January 1856, the eldest daughter of Ernest Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury and his wife, the former Hon. Louisa Elizabeth Horsley-Beresford (daughter of

John Horsley-Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies John Beresford, 2nd Baron Decies (20 January 1774 – 1 March 1865), later Horsley-Beresford, was an Anglo-Irish peer and clergyman. Early life Beresford was born on 20 January 1774. He was the second son of nine children born to William Bere ...

). Together, they were the parents of: * Sir Henry Bruce Meux, 3rd Baronet (1856–1900), who married socialite Valerie Langdon in 1878. Sir Henry died on 1 January 1883. His widow, Lady Louisa, died in December 1894.

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Meux, Henry 1817 births 1883 deaths Meux, Henry, 2nd Baronet High sheriffs of Hertfordshire Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 People educated at Eton College Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Hertfordshire