John Villiers Stuart Townshend, 5th Marquess Townshend DL (10 April 1831 – 26 October 1899), known as Viscount Raynham from 1855 to 1863, was a British peer and Liberal Member of Parliament.
The Marquess Townshend | |
|---|---|
 Caricature by "Ἀτη" published in Vanity Fair in 1870. | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 10 April 1831 |
| Died | 26 October 1899 (aged 68) |
| Political party | Liberal Universal League for the Material Elevation of the Industrious Classes |
| Spouse |
Lady Anne Duff (m. 1865) |
| Children | John Townshend, 6th Marquess Townshend Lady Agnes Cunningham-Durham |
| Parent(s) | John Townshend, 4th Marquess Townshend Elizabeth Crichton-Stuart |
| Occupation | Politician, peer |
Life
editTownshend was the son of John Townshend, 4th Marquess Townshend, and Elizabeth Jane Crichton-Stuart. The soldier George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend, was one of his paternal great-grandfathers, and Prime Minister John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute, was one of his maternal great-grandfathers. He was elected to the House of Commons for Tamworth in 1855 (succeeding his father), a seat he held until 1863, when he inherited the marquessate on his father's death and entered the House of Lords.
In 1869 Townshend introduced a bill to Parliament making it unlawful for anyone but a parent to box a child's ears, and to permit no corporeal punishment of children except for flogging, known to English youth as "horsing".[1]
At the Salisbury Petty Sessions in May 1881, Lord Edward Thynne described how he had been accosted by Lord Townshend and two accomplices on the road between Laverstock and Salisbury. A Colonel Nepean held the pony's head while Townshend struck him several times with the handle of a horse whip. Thynne acknowledged having eloped with Lady Townshend in 1872, but noted that the marquess had never sued for divorce, and alleged that Lord Macduff had attacked him over the same matter while he was abroad.[2]
Townshend was convicted of the assault, and sentenced to a fine of £500 or three months in prison. After some hours in jail, he reluctantly paid the fine, equivalent to £63,700 in 2024.[3] Townshend denounced the court, while Vanity Fair reported unnamed others as saying "the only regret is that he [Thynne] was not thrashed earlier and worse".[4]
In 1897 Lord Townsend placed Tamworth Castle and the neighbouring manors of Bolehall and Glascote up for auction. They were bought by the Corporation of Tamworth for £3,000 (equivalent to £430,000 in 2024).[3] The corporation made the purchase in honour of Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. The castle had come the Townsend family through the marriage of Charlotte Compton, 16th Baroness Ferrers of Chartley to George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend in 1751, however the family had not lived at the castle and it had been rented to a series of tenants.[5][6]
Lord Townshend died in October 1899, aged 68, and was succeeded in his titles by his son John.
Family
edit
Lord Townshend married Lady Anne Elizabeth Clementina Duff, daughter of James Duff, 5th Earl Fife, on 17 October 1865. Their children included:
- John James Dudley Stuart Townshend, 6th Marquess Townshend (1866–1921)
- Lady Agnes Elizabeth Audrey Townshend (1870–1955), married James Cunningham-Durham and had issue
Lady Townshend died in 1925.
References
edit- ^ The Weekly Panola Star (28 August 1869). "Marquis of Townshend". Chronicling America. The Weekly Panola Star. Retrieved 21 April 2022.
- ^ "The Assault on Lord Edward Thynne". The Times. No. 30209. London. 1 June 1881. p. 7. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
- ^ a b UK Retail Price Index inflation figures are based on data from Clark, Gregory (2017). "The Annual RPI and Average Earnings for Britain, 1209 to Present (New Series)". MeasuringWorth. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ F. M. L. Thompson (May 2006). Townshend, John Villiers Stuart, fifth Marquess Townshend (1831–1899). Oxford University Press. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
{{cite book}}:|work=ignored (help) - ^ "Parishes: Bolehall and Glascote". British History Online. 14 November 2020. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ "Victorian". Award-Winning Heritage in a Stunning Castle. 1 January 1901. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- Kidd, Charles, Williamson, David (editors). Debrett's Peerage and Baronetage (1990 edition). New York: St Martin's Press, 1990.
- Leigh Rayment's Peerage Pages [self-published source] [better source needed]
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs
External links
edit- Works by or about John Townshend, 5th Marquess Townshend at the Internet Archive
- Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by the Marquess Townshend