William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale

The Right Honourable The Earl of Lonsdale KG
Portrait of The Earl of Lonsdale, 1806, by Samuel William Reynolds (after John Opie)
Member of Parliament for Rutland
In office 1801–1802 Serving with Gerard Noel Edwards
Preceded by	Union of Great Britain and Ireland
Succeeded by	Gerard Noel Edwards The Lord Carbery
In office 1796–1801 Serving with Gerard Noel Edwards
Preceded by	Gerard Noel Edwards Lord Sherard
Succeeded by	Union of Great Britain and Ireland
Member of Parliament for Cumberland
In office 1784–1790 Serving with Sir Henry Fletcher, Bt
Preceded by	Sir Henry Fletcher, Bt Sir James Lowther, Bt
Succeeded by	Sir Henry Fletcher, Bt Humphrey Senhouse
Member of Parliament for Carlisle
In office 1780–1784 Serving with The Earl of Surrey
Preceded by	Anthony Morris Storer Walter Spencer Stanhope
Succeeded by	The Earl of Surrey Edward Norton
Member of Parliament for Appleby
In office 1780–1781 Serving with Philip Honywood
Preceded by	Philip Honywood George Johnstone
Succeeded by	Philip Honywood William Pitt
Personal details
Born	William Lowther (1757-12-29)29 December 1757
Died	19 March 1844(1844-03-19) (aged 86) York House, Twickenham
Political party	Tory
Spouse	Lady Augusta Fane ​ ​ (m. 1781; died 1838)​
Relations	Sir John Lowther, Bt (brother) Henry Zouch (uncle) Thomas Zouch (uncle) Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale (grandson) William Lowther (grandson)
Children	6
Parent(s)	Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet Anne Zouch
Education	Westminster School
Alma mater	Trinity College, Cambridge

William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, KG (29 December 1757 – 19 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 Tory politician and nobleman known for building Lowther Castle.

Early life

Lowther was the eldest son of Rev. Sir William Lowther, 1st Baronet, of Little Preston and Swillington, and his wife Anne Zouch. 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 Swillington from 1757 to 1788, inherited the estate of Swillington in 1763, upon the death of his first cousin Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet.

His father, a son of Christopher Lowther, was a grandson of Sir William Lowther. His maternal grandparents were Charles Zouch, vicar of Sandal Magna, and the former Dorothy Norton (daughter of Gervase Norton). Through his mother, his uncles were Henry and Thomas Zouch.

He was educated at Westminster, 1771, and Trinity College, Cambridge, 1776.

Career

Lowther Castle

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), but he seems to have shown a tendency towards independence. Lowther was briefly Member of Parliament for Appleby in 1780, for Carlisle from 1780 to 1784 and for Cumberland from 1784 to 1790. In 1796, he was returned as Member of Parliament for Rutland, 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 Earl of Lonsdale of the first creation, as well as his immense estates. He was also appointed to the northern Lord Lieutenancies of Cumberland and Westmorland. In 1807, Lowther was himself created Earl of Lonsdale and appointed a Knight of the Garter.

A coal magnate, he spent £200,000 on the Lowther estate and built a new Lowther Castle. A Tory 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.

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

• William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale (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.
• 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 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, 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

• 
  Portrait of Lord Lonsdale, by Jacob Thompson
• 
  Drawing of his wife, Augusta, Countess of Lonsdale, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1837
• 
  Lithography of his eldest son, William Lowther, 2nd Earl of Lonsdale, by Vincent Brooks
• 
  Portrait of his grandson, Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale, c. 1870
• 
  Lord Lonsdale's Shield of arms
• 
  Painting of Lowther Castle at evening by J. M. W. Turner, 1810
• 
  Statue (1845-6) of Lord Lonsdale by Musgrave Lewthwaite Watson at Carlisle Citadel

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Earl of Lonsdale
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages
• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
• Portraits of William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale at the National Portrait Gallery, London