English politician
Henry Capell, Baron Capell of Tewkesbury
KB
,
PC
(1638 – 30 May 1696) was an
English
politician who sat in the
House of Commons
between 1660 and 1692. He was then created
Baron Capell
.
Early life
[
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]
Henry Capell was born in
Hadham Parva
,
Hertfordshire
. He was the son of
Arthur Capell, 1st Baron Capell of Hadham
and Elizabeth Morrison. He was baptised on 6 March 1638. His father was raised to the peerage in 1641 and he died fighting for the King in the civil wars in 1649 as one of the commanders of the Colchester garrison.
[1]
Henry's eldest brother was
Arthur Capell, 1st Earl of Essex
.
Career
[
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]
Capel founded the
Royal Botanic Gardens
at
Kew
. Later Capel was elected
Member of Parliament
for
Tewkesbury
in the
Convention Parliament
. He was invested as a
Knight
of the
Order of the Bath
, on 23 April 1661. In 1661, he was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury in the
Cavalier Parliament
. He was a member of the
Irish Privy Council
, from April 1673 to March 1684/85. Capell was re-elected MP for Tewkesbury in the two elections of 1679, was a member of the English Privy Council, from 22 April 1679 to 31 January 1680, and was
First Lord of the Admiralty
, between 1679 and 1680.
[1]
In 1689, Capell was elected MP for
Cockermouth
[1]
and was
Lord of the Treasury
, between 1689 and 1690. He was invested again as
Privy Councillor
, on 14 February 1689. He was elected MP for Tewkesbury in 1690, and sat until 11 April 1692, when he was ennobled as
Baron Capell of Tewkesbury
, in the County of Gloucester.
[1]
One year later, he became
Lord Justice of Ireland
and in turn a Privy Councillor of Ireland, in June 1693. In 1695 and 1696, Capell was
Lord Deputy of Ireland
. His term as Lord Deputy was not considered successful because of him being a firm
Whig
and presiding over an administration which was deeply divided between Whigs and
Tories
, and he did nothing to help this situation change.
Capell died aged 58 in
Chapelizod
,
County Dublin
, and was buried on 8 September 1696 in
Little Hadham
, Hertfordshire. The barony died with him.
Private life
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On 16 February 1659, Capell married Dorothy Bennet, daughter of Richard Bennet. The marriage was childless, but did bring part of what later became
Kew Palace
into the Capell family, leading to its becoming known as Capel House.
Dorothy died in 1721, and through her will endowed a number of charities.
References
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of England
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of Great Britain
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of the United Kingdom
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