Colonel John Towneley DL (16 February 1806 – 21 February 1878)[1] was a wealthy English Gentleman from an old Roman Catholic, Lancashire family. He entered the United Kingdom parliament for the Whig Party, and later commanded the 5th Royal Lancashire Militia.
John Towneley | |
|---|---|
| Member of Parliament for Beverley | |
| In office 1841–1852 | |
| Preceded by | Sackville Lane-Fox Sir James Hogg, Bt |
| Succeeded by | Hon. Francis Charles Lawley William Wells |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 16 February 1806 |
| Died | 21 February 1878 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Whig |
He was made deputy lieutenant for Lancashire on 10 May 1834.[2] In 1876, he inherited the family trustee seat at the British Museum.[3]
Early life
editBorn on 16 February 1806, he was the youngest son of Peregrine Edward Towneley (1762–1846) of Towneley Hall, Burnley and Charlotte Drummond.[4] His eldest sister, Charlotte died, aged 20 in January 1818.[5] Another elder sister, Frances, married Thomas Stonor, 3rd Baron Camoys in 1821, and John would follow his older brother Charles closely.[6] In August 1818, John joined Charles at the Roman Catholic seminary at St Mary's College, Oscott, studying there until Christmas 1824.[7]
Career
editPolitics
editHe was elected at the 1841 general election as a Member of Parliament (MP) for Beverley, and held the seat until he did not stand at the 1852 general election.[1]
Military
editWhen his brother Charles Towneley, raised the new 5th Royal Lancashire Militia in 1853, John was commissioned as one of the Captains.[8] He was promoted to Major a few weeks later.[9] The auxiliary regiment was already embodied when war was declared against Russia, on 28 March the following year, beginning the Crimean War. In May 1855 they began duty at Aldershot and moved to Clonmel, Ireland at the start of December. From mid-April 1856, the regiment spent a month in Dublin, before returning to Burnley to be disembodied on 6 June.[10] When Charles retired from the command in 1863, John was promoted to lieutenant-colonel to succeed him.[11] He also succeeded Charles as honorary colonel of the regiment following Charles's death in 1876.[12][13]
Personal life
edit
Towneley married Lucy Tichborne, the daughter of Henry Joseph Tichborne, (the 8th Baronet) and Anne Burke on 28 October 1840. They had five children:[4]
- Theresa Harriet (1843-1926) married John Delacour in 1890. She died 23 September 1926.
- Lucy Evelyn (died 1928) married Colonel John Murray, 23rd Laird of Touchadam, chief of the Clan Murray in 1877. She died 19 June 1928.
- Mary Elizabeth (1846-1922) became a nun and Provincial of the English Province of the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. She died 31 March 1922.
- Richard Henry (1849-1877).
- Mabel Anne (1854-1921) married Lewis Henry Hugh Clifford, 9th Baron Clifford of Chudleigh in 1890. She died 24 January 1921.
Although three of Towneley's daughters married, no children were produced from any of these marriages.[15]
He kept a townhouse on Eaton Place off Eaton Square in the Belgravia area of London. In 1860 he was a member of the Travellers and White's Gentlemen's clubs.[16]
John also inherited the Towneley estates, including the Lordship of Bowland, in 1876 from his brother Charles. As John's only son Richard died before he did, it became necessary to divide the estate between the seven daughters of the two men, requiring a private Act of Parliament.[15]
Memorial
editThe Towneley Chapel was added to the church of St Mary of the Assumption, Burnley, as a memorial to John and his son Richard. It was dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels, which seems to relate to Towneley’s daughter Mary, who had taken the name ‘Sister Marie des Saints Anges’ when she became a nun. It was officially opened on 5 October 1879.[17]
References
edit- ^ a b Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "B" (part 3)
- ^ "No. 19200". The London Gazette. 10 October 1834. p. 1806.
- ^ Trustees of the Museum (10 December 1898). Statutes and Rules for the British Museum. London: Woodfall and Kinder. p. 31 – via Internet Archive (Biodiversity Heritage Library).
- ^ a b Charles Mosley, ed. (2003), Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, vol. 2 (107 ed.), Burke's Peerage & Gentry, p. 2992, ISBN 978-0971196629
- ^ Raymund Stanfield; Joseph Hansom; John Hobson Matthews (1913). Obituaries. Vol. 12. London: Catholic Record Society. p. 140.
- ^ Charles Mosley, ed. (2003), Burke's Peerage, Baronetage & Knightage, vol. 1 (107 ed.), Burke's Peerage & Gentry, p. 659, ISBN 978-0971196629
- ^ The Oscotian : a literary gazette of St. Mary's College, Oscott, vol. 22, St. Mary's College, 1888, p. 110
- ^ "No. 6273". The London Gazette. 15 April 1853. p. 313.
- ^ "No. 21432". The London Gazette. 19 April 1853. p. 1131.
- ^ John George Rawstorne (1874). An Account of the Regiments of Royal Lancashire Militia, 1759 to 1870. H Longman. pp. 45–46.
- ^ "No. 22723". The London Gazette. 3 April 1863. p. 1874.
- ^ H.G. Hart, The New Annual Army List, and Militia List, various dates.
- ^ "No. 24390". The London Gazette. 5 December 1876. p. 6747.
- ^ "Winning streak boosted churches". Lancashire Telegraph. Newsquest Media Group. 1 November 1996.
- ^ a b Tracing the Towneleys (PDF), Towneley Hall Society, 2004, pp. 17, 28, archived from the original (PDF) on 4 August 2017, retrieved 3 August 2017
- ^ Edward Walford (1860), The County Families of the United Kingdom... (2 ed.), London: Robert Hardwicke, p. 640
- ^ "Burnley – St Mary of the Assumption". taking-stock.org.uk.