William Henry Dawnay, 6th Viscount Downe (20 August 1772 – 23 May 1846), styled The Honourable William Henry Dawnay until 1832, was an English clergyman and Irish peer. William was the second son of John Dawnay, 4th Viscount Downe. Educated at Eton, he became friends there with the son of Giles Earle (d. 1811). He matriculated at

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 ...

in 1790, receiving his BA in 1795 and his MA in 1796. In 1798, his brother John Dawnay, 5th Viscount Downe presented William to the rectories of

Sessay Sessay is a small, linear village and civil parish in North Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately south-east from Thirsk, and west from the A19 road close to the East Coast Main Line. The civil parish also includes the village of ...

and Thormanby. Both of these livings are in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in Northern England.The Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority areas of City of York, York and North Yorkshire (district), North Yorkshire are in Yorkshire and t ...

, and were in the patronage of the Dawnays, as was Ashwell, Rutland, to which he was presented by his brother in 1803. On 6 June 1811, William married Lydia Heathcote daughter of John Heathcote of Connington Castle, by whom he had three children: *

William Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe William Henry Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe (15 May 1812 – 26 January 1857) was a British politician. Background Downe was the son of the Reverend William Henry Dawnay, 6th Viscount Downe, Rector of Sessay and Thormanby in North Yorkshire. Politi ...

(1812–1857) *Hon. Lydia Frances Catherine Dawnay (2 October 1813 – 28 January 1890) *Hon. Payan Dawnay (18 November 1815 – 17 June 1891) Beningbrough Hall - Georgian perfection

Dawnay inherited Beningbrough Hall, Yorkshire, in 1827, upon the death of Margaret Earle, mother of his school friend at Eton. Her sons predeceased her, and as she was the last of the Bourchier family that had owned Beningbrough, she left it to him. He succeeded his brother as Viscount Downe in 1832. Downe died at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

in 1846 and was succeeded by his eldest son William Henry. Beningbrough, however, was left to Downe's second son, Payan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Downe, William Dawnay, 6th Viscount 1772 births 1846 deaths 19th-century English Anglican priests Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford People educated at Eton College Ordained peers Viscounts in the Peerage of Ireland

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...