English Whig politician
Portrait of Lowndes by
Godfrey Kneller
William Lowndes
(1 November 1652 ? 20 January 1724) was an English
Whig
politician who sat in the
English
and
British House of Commons
from 1695 to 1724. He served as
Secretary to the Treasury
during the reigns of
William III of England
and
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
.
Early life
[
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]
Lowndes was born in
Winslow, Buckinghamshire
on 1 November 1652. He was the son of Robert Lowndes and his second wife Elizabeth FitzWilliam. His father was descended from the Lowndes of
Overton, Smallwood
, and his grandfather had moved south to Buckinghamshire; other relatives settled in the
Province of South Carolina
. Lowndes was educated at the free school in
Buckingham
. He joined
HM Treasury
as a clerk, and eventually acquired ownership of Bury Manor in
Chesham
in 1687.
[1]
Political career
[
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]
Lowndes was returned unopposed as a
Member of Parliament
for
Seaford
in Sussex, a "limb" of the
Cinque Ports
, at the 1695 general election. He was returned unopposed for Seaford for every election until 1715.
[2]
He served as chairman of the
Committee of Ways and Means
, becoming known throughout Britain as "
Ways and Means
Lowndes".
Winslow Hall
Lowndes also became Secretary to the Treasury in 1695. His
Report containing an essay for the amendment of the silver coins
, written during the
crisis of 1695
, was answered by
John Locke
, whose views on the reform of the currency prevailed. He became wealthy as a result of holding office in the Treasury. In 1700, he built
Winslow Hall
in
Winslow
, Buckinghamshire.
Around this period Lowndes was painted twice by Sir
Godfrey Kneller
(1646?1723),
[3]
and by contemporary painter
Richard Philips
(1681?1741) whose portrait is in the collection of the Bank of England.
[4]
Lowndes originated the funded system and rose to great power and influence in Parliament. In recognition of his service, Queen Anne conferred upon him the office of Auditor of the Land Revenue for life, in reversion to his sons, with an augmentation to his
coat of arms
.
In 1712 Lowndes rebuilt Chesham's manor house, The Bury, immediately to the south of
St Mary's Church, Chesham
. The building still stands today, and currently serves as an office building.
At the
1715 general election
Lowndes was returned unopposed as MP for
St Mawes
in Cornwall in the first Parliament of
King George I
, but stood unsuccessfully for
Westminster
in 1722. Shortly afterwards, he was returned in a by-election on 27 October 1722 as MP for
East Looe
, also in Cornwall, after that constituency was vacated by
Horace Walpole
when he decided to stand for
Great Yarmouth
instead.
[5]
In 1723 Lowndes bought the
freehold
reversion
of
leasehold
property he owned in
St. James's
and
Knightsbridge
, in areas now known as Lowndes Square and Lowndes Street.
The expression "Take care of the pence, and the pounds will take care of themselves" is attributed to him.
[6]
Death and legacy
[
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]
Lowndes' death was announced in the House of Commons by Walpole, saying
The House had lost a very useful Member, and the public as able and honest a servant as ever the Crown had
.
His son, also named William (1687?1775), by
Thomas Gainsborough
(1727?1788)
Lowndes married four times:
- Elizabeth Harsnett, daughter of Sir Roger Harsnett (she died in 1680)
- Jane Hopper in 1683 (she died in 1685)
- Elizabeth Martyn, daughter of Richard Martyn (she died 1689)
- Rebecca Shales, daughter of John Shales. Rebecca was a descendant of
Henry Pole, 1st Baron Montagu
, the eldest son of the
Margaret Pole, 8th Countess of Salisbury
; she was the daughter of
George, Duke of Clarence
, and so niece of
King Edward IV
.
Lowndes had children with each of his wives, 25 children in all. His offspring were also fruitful: one son had 16 children, including four sets of twins in four years; a grandson had 10 children.
He was succeeded by his son
Richard
, who inherited Winslow Hall and became both High Sheriff and MP for Buckinghamshire.
William Lowndes
, a son by his third wife, followed him as an Auditor of His Majesty's Court of Exchequer in the 1760s.
[
citation needed
]
In 2020, Lowndes was a character in the
Audible
Assassain's Creed Podcast, Assassain's Creed Gold. Lowndes was voiced by British voice actor Nicholas Le Prevost.
See also
[
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]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"The Bury, Chesham"
.
britishlistedbuildings
. Retrieved
7 January
2017
.
- ^
"LOWNDES, William (1652-1724), of St. Margaret's, Westminster, Mdx.; Winslow and Chesham, Bucks"
. History of Parliament Online (1690-1715)
. Retrieved
9 September
2018
.
- ^
"Portraits by Kneller"
.
Government Art Collection
. Department for Culture Media & Sport
. Retrieved
7 January
2017
.
- ^
"Portrait by Phillips"
.
ArtUK
. ArtUK
. Retrieved
7 January
2017
.
- ^
"LOWNDES, William (1652-1724), of Chesham, Bucks"
. History of Parliament Online (1715-1754)
. Retrieved
9 September
2018
.
- ^
Quoted in a letter by
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
, dated 6 November 1747; see
John Bartlett's
Familiar Quotations
, 10th edition, 1919.
- Stephen B Baxter,
The Development of the Treasury, 1660?1702
(1957)
- Clive Foxell,"The Lowndes Chesham Estate ? The Early Photographs" (2011)
External links
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