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 establis ...

peer and politician.

Political career

He sat as

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

(MP) for Kilkenny County from 1715 to 1727. Subsequently he represented Portarlington until 1733, when he was raised to the peerage as " Baron Castle Durrow, of

Castle Durrow Castle Durrow is an 18th-century country house in Durrow, County Laois, Ireland. The house was built in the pre-Palladian design and formal gardens that were popular in the 18th century. History The house was built between 1712-1716 by Colone ...

in the County of Kilkenny". (At the time the manor of Durrow was an

exclave An enclave is a territory (or a small territory apart of a larger one) that is entirely surrounded by the territory of one other state or entity. Enclaves may also exist within territorial waters. ''Enclave'' is sometimes used improperly to deno ...

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

High Sheriff of County Kilkenny The High Sheriff of County Kilkenny was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Kilkenny, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Kilkenny County S ...

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 (; cy, Aberhonddu; ), 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 coun ...

. He inherited it from his stepmother, the

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, referring or related to Wales * Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales * Welsh people People * Welsh (surname) * Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...

heiress Dorothea Jeffreys. She was the only daughter of Colonel John Jeffreys, first Master of the

Royal Hospital Kilmainham The Royal Hospital Kilmainham ( ga, Ospidéal Ríochta Chill Mhaighneann) in Kilmainham, Dublin, is a former 17th-century hospital at Kilmainham in Ireland. The structure now houses the Irish Museum of Modern Art. History A priory, founded in 11 ...

, 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 still ...

. He built

, 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 Satire, satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whig (British political party), Whigs, then for the Tories (British political party), Tories), poe ...

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 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fra ...

, 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 ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

. 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

County Kilkenny County Kilkenny ( gle, Contae Chill Chainnigh) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the South-East Region. It is named after the city of Kilkenny. Kilkenny County Council is the local authority for the cou ...

politician, and was the mother of six children, including

George Agar, 1st Baron Callan George Agar, 1st Baron Callan PC (4 December 1751 – 29 October 1815) was an Anglo-Irish politician and peer. Agar was the third son of James Agar, of Ringwood, County Kilkenny, by the Honourable Rebecca Flower, daughter of William Flower, ...

. Flower died in 1746 aged 61 and was buried at

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

in County Dublin. His only surviving son

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

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

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Castle Durrow, William Flower, 1st Baron 1685 births 1746 deaths People from County Laois People 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