William Flower, 1st Baron Castle Durrow PC (Ire) (11 March 1685 – 29 April 1746) 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 ...

peer and politician.

Political career

He sat as Member of Parliament (MP) for

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny () 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. It is named after the City status in Ir ...

from 1715 to 1727. Subsequently, he represented Portarlington until 1733, when he was raised to the peerage as " Baron Castle Durrow, of Castle Durrow in the County of Kilkenny". (At the time the manor of Durrow was an

exclave An enclave is a territory that is entirely surrounded by the territory of only one other state or entity. An enclave can be an independent territory or part of a larger one. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is s ...

of County Kilkenny; in 1842 it was transferred to Queen's County, later known as Laois.) Flower was made High Sheriff of County Kilkenny in 1731, and was invested to 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 ...

in 1735. He owned a substantial property at Abercynrig in

Brecon Brecon (; ; ), archaically known as Brecknock, is a market town in Powys, mid Wales. In 1841, it had a population of 5,701. The population in 2001 was 7,901, increasing to 8,250 at the 2011 census. Historically it was the county town of Breck ...

. He inherited it from his stepmother, the Welsh heiress Dorothea Jeffreys. She was the only daughter of Colonel John Jeffreys, first Master of the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, and widow of Arthur Turner (died 1684), judge of the

Court of Common Pleas (Ireland) The Court of Common Pleas was one of the principal courts of common law in Ireland. It was a mirror image of the equivalent court in England. Common Pleas was one of the four courts of justice which gave the Four Courts in Dublin, which is sti ...

. He built Castle Durrow, Durrow, County Laois, as his principal Irish residence: the family remained there until 1922.

Jonathan Swift Jonathan Swift (30 November 1667 – 19 October 1745) was an Anglo-Irish writer, essayist, satirist, and Anglican cleric. In 1713, he became the Dean (Christianity), dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, and was given the sobriquet "Dean Swi ...

praised him as "a gentleman of very good sense and wit".

Family

He was the only son of Thomas Flower of Finglas and his first wife Mary Temple, daughter of Sir John Temple, Speaker of 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, ...

, and Jane Yarner. His paternal grandparents were Sir William Flower, MP and Privy Councillor, and Frances Weldon. Flower was educated 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 ...

. He succeeded to his father's estates in 1700. In 1717, Flower married Edith Caulfeild, daughter of Hon. Toby Caulfeild, a son of the 1st Viscount Charlemont and Rebecca Walsh. They had two daughters and two sons. His daughter Rebecca, married James Agar, a prominent

politician, and was the mother of six children, including George Agar, 1st Baron Callan. Flower died in 1746 aged 61 and was buried at

Finglas Finglas (; ) is a northwestern outer suburb of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It lies close to Junction 5 of the M50 motorway (Ireland), M50 motorway, and the N2 road (Ireland), N2 road. Nearby suburbs include Glasnevin and Ballymun; Du ...

in County Dublin. His only surviving son

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

succeeded to the barony. and became the first Viscount Ashbrook in 1751.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle Durrow, William Flower, 1st Baron 1685 births 1746 deaths Politicians from County Laois Politicians from County Kilkenny Alumni of Christ Church, Oxford Barons in the Peerage of Ireland Peers of Ireland created by George II Irish MPs 1715–1727 Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Privy Council of Ireland High sheriffs of County Kilkenny 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Kilkenny constituencies Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for Portarlington