William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, KG (29 December 175719 March 1844), also known as Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Little Preston, from 1788 to 1802, and William Lowther, 2nd Viscount Lowther, from 1802 to 1807, was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

Tory A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...

politician and nobleman known for building

Lowther Castle Lowther Castle is a ruined country house in Lowther, Cumbria, Lowther, Cumbria, England. The estate has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. The house was largely built between 1806 and 1814 for ...

Early life

Lowther was the eldest son of Rev. Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet, of

Little Preston Great Preston is a small rural village in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough, West Yorkshire, England. It has incorporated the once neighbouring hamlet of Little Preston. Location Great Preston is situated 9 miles south east of Leeds city c ...

and

Swillington Swillington is a village and civil parish near Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough. It is situated east from Leeds city centre, north of the River Aire, and is surrounded by streams including Fleaking ...

, and his wife Anne

Zouch Zouch is a hamlet in south west Nottinghamshire, England. It is located between Hathern and Normanton on Soar and is situated by the River Soar, which marks the county boundary with Leicestershire.Ordnance Survey mapping Most of the hamlet ...

. His younger brother was Sir John Lowther, 1st Baronet, who also married a daughter of the 9th Earl of Westmorland. His father, an ordained priest who served as rector of

from 1757 to 1788, inherited the estate of Swillington in 1763, upon the death of his first cousin

Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet (c. 1694 – 6 March 1763) was an English landowner from Swillington, and a baronet in the Baronetage of Great Britain. He was the eldest son of Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet by his wife, Annabella Maynard. ...

. His father, a son of Christopher Lowther, was a grandson of Sir William Lowther. His maternal grandparents were Charles Zouch,

vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...

of Sandal Magna, and the former Dorothy Norton (daughter of Gervase Norton). Through his mother, his uncles were

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 ...

and Thomas Zouch. He was educated at

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, 1771, and

Trinity College, Cambridge Trinity College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, Trinity is one of the largest Cambridge colleges, with the largest financial endowment of any ...

, 1776.

Career

Like many members of the Lowther family, he followed the politics of his cousin, Sir James Lowther, 5th Baronet (later the 1st

Earl of Lonsdale Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 (becoming extinct in 1802), and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowth ...

), but he seems to have shown a tendency towards independence. Lowther was briefly Member of Parliament for Appleby in 1780, for

Carlisle Carlisle ( , ; from ) is a city in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. Carlisle's early history is marked by the establishment of a settlement called Luguvalium to serve forts along Hadrian's Wall in Roman Britain. Due to its pro ...

from 1780 to 1784 and for

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

from 1784 to 1790. In 1796, he was returned as Member of Parliament for

Rutland Rutland is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Leicestershire to the north and west, Lincolnshire to the north-east, and Northamptonshire to the south-west. Oakham is the largest town and county town. Rutland has a ...

, holding the seat until 1802. On 15 June 1788, he succeeded his father as the second baronet, of Little Preston. In 1802, he inherited by special remainder the titles of Viscount Lowther and Baron Lowther from his third cousin twice removed, the 1st

of the first creation, as well as his immense estates. He was also appointed to the northern Lord Lieutenancies of Cumberland and

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland''R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref>) is an area of North West England which was Historic counties of England, historically a county. People of the area ...

. In 1807, Lowther was himself created

and appointed a

Knight of the Garter The Most Noble Order of the Garter is an order of chivalry founded by Edward III of England in 1348. The most senior order of knighthood in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system, it is outranked in ...

. A

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other Chemical element, elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal i ...

magnate, he spent £200,000 on the Lowther estate and built a new

. A

in politics, he seems to have been tolerant and well-liked, disdaining sabbatarianism and serving as patron for a number of painters and authors, including

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poetry, Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romanticism, Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Balla ...

Personal life

On 12 July 1781, Lord Lonsdale was married to Lady Augusta Fane (died 1838), the eldest daughter of John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland and, his first wife, Augusta Bertie (eldest daughter and co-heiress of Lord Montagu Bertie, fourth son, by his second wife, of

Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Privy Council of Great Britain, PC (20 October 1660 – 26 July 1723), ''styled'' 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby between 1666 and 1701, and known as 4th Earl of Lindsey between 1701 and 1706, ...

). Together, they were the parents of six children: *

William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale, PC, FRS (21 July 1787 – 4 March 1872), styled Viscount Lowther between 1807 and 1844, was a British Tory politician. Background Lonsdale was the eldest son of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, an ...

(1787–1872), who never married, but had at least three illegitimate children he acknowledged. * Hon. Henry Cecil Lowther (1790–1867), who married Lady Lucy Eleanor Sherard, daughter of

Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough Philip, also Phillip, is a male name derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the n ...

. * Lady Elizabeth Lowther (d. 1869), who died unmarried. * Lady Mary Lowther (1785–1863), who married Maj.-Gen. Lord Frederick Cavendish-Bentinck, son of the 3rd Duke of Portland, on 16 September 1820. Lady Mary, an amateur artist, was tutored by

Joseph Farington Joseph Farington (21 November 1747 – 30 December 1821) was an 18th-century English landscape painter and diarist. Family Born in Leigh, Lancashire, Farington was the second of seven sons of William Farington and Esther Gilbody. His father ...

and Peter de Wint. * Lady Anne Lowther (d. 1863), who married Sir John Beckett, 2nd Baronet on 20 January 1817. * Lady Grace Caroline Lowther (d. 1883), who married William Vane, 3rd Duke of Cleveland on 3 July 1815. Lowther also enjoyed

fox hunting Fox hunting is an activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds" (or "master of hounds" ...

, serving as Master of the Cottesmore Hunt from 1788 to 1802 and 1806 to 1842. Lord Lonsdale died at York House, Twickenham on 19 March 1844.

Gallery

File:William Lowther 1st Earl of Lonsdale.jpg, Portrait of Lord Lonsdale, by

Jacob Thompson Jacob Thompson (May 15, 1810 – March 24, 1885) was the United States Secretary of the Interior, who resigned on the outbreak of the American Civil War and became the Inspector General of the Confederate States Army. In 1864, Jefferson Davis ...

File:Augusta Countess of Lonsdale.jpg, Drawing of his wife, Augusta, Countess of Lonsdale, by

Sir Thomas Lawrence Sir Thomas Lawrence (13 April 1769 – 7 January 1830) was an English people, English portrait painter and the fourth president of the Royal Academy. A child prodigy, he was born in Bristol and began drawing in Devizes, where his father was a ...

, 1837 File:William Lowther 2nd Earl of Lonsdale.jpg, Lithography of his eldest son,

, by Vincent Brooks File:Henry Lowther 3rd Earl of Lonsdale.jpg, upPortrait of his grandson,

Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale (27 March 1818 – 15 August 1876) was a British nobleman and Conservative politician. Early life Lowther was born on 27 March 1818. He was the eldest son of Hon. Henry Cecil Lowther and Lady Lucy Sherard ...

, File:Shield of arms of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, KG.png, Lord Lonsdale's Shield of arms File:Lowther Castle - Evening by Turner 1810.jpg, Painting of Lowther Castle at evening by

J. M. W. Turner Joseph Mallord William Turner (23 April 177519 December 1851), known in his time as William Turner, was an English Romantic painter, printmaker and watercolourist. He is known for his expressive colouring, imaginative landscapes and turbu ...

, 1810 File:Statue of the 1st Earl of Lonsdale at Carlisle Citadel, The Crescent, Carlisle, Cumbria.jpg, Statue (1845-6) of Lord Lonsdale by Musgrave Lewthwaite Watson at

Carlisle Citadel Carlisle Citadel or The Citadel is a group of buildings on the site of a former early modern fortress on English Street in Carlisle, Cumbria. It comprises two towers, both of which are Grade I listed buildings: the Nisi Prius Courthouse and th ...

References

External links

* * * * , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Lonsdale, William Lowther, 1st Earl of 1757 births 1844 deaths People from Westmorland People educated at Westminster School, London Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge 1 Knights of the Garter Lord-lieutenants of Cumberland Lord-lieutenants of Westmorland Lowther, William Lowther, William British MPs 1780–1784 British MPs 1784–1790 British MPs 1796–1800 Lowther, William Lowther, William Lonsdale, E1 UK MPs who were granted peerages

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 ...

Masters of foxhounds in England People from Cumberland