William Henry Dawnay, 7th Viscount Downe (15 May 1812 – 26 January 1857) was a British politician.

Background

Downe was the son of Reverend William Henry Dawnay, 6th Viscount Downe, Rector of Sessay and Thormanby.

Political career

Downe was returned to Parliament as one of two representatives for Rutland

Rutland (UK Parliament constituency)

Rutland was a parliamentary constituency covering the county of Rutland. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom until 1918, when it became part of the Rutland and Stamford constituency, along with Stamford in Lincolnshire...

 in 1841, a seat he held until 1846. The latter year he succeeded his father in the viscountcy. However, as this was an Irish peerage

Peerage of Ireland

The Peerage of Ireland is the term used for those titles of nobility created by the English and later British monarchs of Ireland in their capacity as Lord or King of Ireland. The creation of such titles came to an end in the 19th century. The ranks of the Irish peerage are Duke, Marquess, Earl,...

 it did not entitle him to a seat in the House of Lords

House of Lords

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....

.

Family

Lord Downe married Mary Isabel, daughter of the Right Reverend Richard Bagot

Richard Bagot (bishop)

Richard Bagot was an English cleric.He was a son of William Bagot, 1st Baron Bagot of Blithfield Hall, Staffordshire...

, in 1843. They had eight sons and two daughters:

• Maj.-Gen. Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe
  Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe
  Major-General Hugh Richard Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe, KCVO, CB, CIE was a British Army general and President of the MCC....
  
   (1844–1924)
• Lt.-Col. Hon. Lewis Payn Dawnay
  Lewis Payn Dawnay
  Lewis Payn Dawnay was an English Conservative Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1892....
  
   (1 April 1846 – 30 July 1910), Coldstream Guards, inherited Beningbrough Hall
  Beningbrough Hall
  Beningbrough Hall is a large Georgian mansion near the village of Beningbrough, North Yorkshire, England overlooking the River Ouse. It boasts one of Britain's finest baroque interiors and an attractive walled garden, as well as being home to over 100 portraits on loan from the National Portrait...
  
   from his uncle Payan in 1891
• Hon. Alan Charles Dawnay (15 June 1847 – 3 March 1853)
• Hon. Guy Cuthbert Dawnay (26 July 1848 – 28 February 1889)
• Hon. Lt. Eustace Henry Dawnay (15 April 1850 – 15 December 1928), Coldstream Guards, married Lady Evelyn de Vere Capell, daughter of Arthur de Vere Capell, Viscount Malden, and had issue
• Hon. Capt. William Frederick Dawnay (14 October 1851 – 29 September 1904), Staffordshire Militia, married Lady Adelaide Parker, daughter of Thomas Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield
  Thomas Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield
  Thomas Augustus Wolstenholme Parker, 6th Earl of Macclesfield was a British peer. Before inheriting the earldom, he sat in the House of Commons as Conservative Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire from 1837 until 1841....
  
   and had issue
• Hon. Geoffrey Nicolas Dawnay (13 December 1852 – 31 December 1941), married Emily Bulteel and had issue
• Hon. Capt. (Temp. Maj.) Francis Herbert Dawnay (11 December 1853 – 26 June 1914), Yorkshire Hussars, barrister
• Hon. Alice Isabell Dawnay (1855 – 8 October 1929)
• Hon. Edith Mary Dawnay (1856 – 15 July 1941), married Robert Grant-Suttie and had issue

He died in January 1857, aged 44, and was succeeded in the viscountcy by his eldest son, Hugh

Hugh Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe

Major-General Hugh Richard Dawnay, 8th Viscount Downe, KCVO, CB, CIE was a British Army general and President of the MCC....

. Lady Downe later remarried and died in April 1900.