William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby
Encyclopedia
William Brabazon Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby (of Imokilly), PC (Ire)
(15 September 1744 – 5 November 1806) was a leading Irish Whig
politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons
, and after 1800, of the United Kingdom
parliament. Ponsonby was the son of the Hon. John Ponsonby, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of the 3rd Duke of Devonshire
. He was invested as a Privy Counsellor of Ireland in 1784. He served as Joint Postmaster-General of Ireland
(1784–1789).
. He represented Cork City
between 1764 and 1776 and thereafter Bandonbridge
between 1776 and 1783. He was the leader of a powerful family grouping of between ten and fourteen MPs, the second largest in the Irish House of Commons
. During the regency crisis of 1788-9 he gave his support to the Prince of Wales
in opposition to William Pitt the Younger
. As a consequence he was dismissed from the Post Office. Thereafter he permanently aligned himself with Charles James Fox
and together with his brother George
gathered together the various small groups of Irish whigs into a unified opposition. As with their English counterparts, their ultimate objective was to re-establish the influence of the landowning classes at the expense of the crown. Ponsonby became committed to the cause of Catholic Emancipation
, as a means of securing a loyal population at a time of radical agitation and potential foreign invasion.
Pitt's coalition with the Portland
whigs in July 1794 and Earl FitzWilliam's
consequent appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
gave Ponsonby and his allies an opportunity to regain office. He was on the brink of becoming Irish secretary of state and had sat on the Treasury bench. In 1795, however, he appears to have persuaded FitzWilliam to dismiss John Beresford from his post as first commissioner of the revenue on the grounds of alleged corruption, apparently in revenge for earlier political dealings. The subsequent political crisis led in 1795 to FitzWilliam's swift removal from office, Beresford's re-instatement, and to Ponsonby's humiliating return to opposition.
Ponsonby was a leading opponent of the union between Ireland and Great Britain. In 1783, he stood for Newtownards
and Kilkenny County
. He chose the latter constituency and sat for it from 1783 until the Act of Union
came into force in 1801. He became then part of the Foxite
Whig opposition in the Westminster House of Commons, voting against the Addington
and Pitt ministries and in favour of the Prince of Wales and Catholic Emancipation. His influence was declining, however, and by 1803 effective leadership of the Irish whigs had passed to his brother George.
regained office in 1806 as member of Grenville's Ministry of All the Talents
, Ponsonby's health was poor, with the result that his wife urgently pressed his claims for a peerage, arguing that it was merited by his opposition to the Regency Bill and the Union, and by his staunch support for the Foxite whigs at Westminster. As a consequence he was raised swiftly to the peerage of the United Kingdom
on 13 March 1806. He was gazetted as 'Baron Ponsonby, of Imokilly in the County of Cork', although other sources generally refer to him as 'Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly'. He died in Seymour Street, London, on 5 November 1806, and was buried in Ireland.
described Ponsonby in a letter to Lord Charlemont
as "a manly, decided character, with ... a clear and vigorous understanding." He was as interested in sport as he was in politics and was said to have kept ‘the best hunting establishment in Ireland’ at Bishopscourt
, his seat in County Kildare
, where it was also reported that he lived ‘in the most hospitable and princely style’ (GEC, Peerage). In addition, he was easily irritated, especially if his status and pretensions went unacknowledged. Thus, although he took a leading part in creating a whig opposition in Ireland in the 1790s, he overplayed his hand under FitzWilliam, and his effectiveness was thereafter limited.
, and his second wife, Mary Usher. They had five sons, three of whom were men of note: the eldest John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby of Imokilly was a diplomat; the second, Hon. Sir William Ponsonby, a major-general in the army, was killed at The Battle of Waterloo; the third, Richard Ponsonby
, became bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora
in 1828, Derry
in 1831 and Derry and Raphoe
in 1834. Their only daughter Mary was married to the Prime Minister, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
. Ponsonby's descendants include Sir Alec Douglas-Home
and Prince William of Wales
.
Privy Council of Ireland
The Privy Council of Ireland was an institution of the Kingdom of Ireland until 31 December 1800 and of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801-1922...
(15 September 1744 – 5 November 1806) was a leading Irish Whig
British Whig Party
The Whigs were a party in the Parliament of England, Parliament of Great Britain, and Parliament of the United Kingdom, who contested power with the rival Tories from the 1680s to the 1850s. The Whigs' origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule...
politician, being a member of the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
, and after 1800, of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
parliament. Ponsonby was the son of the Hon. John Ponsonby, the Speaker of the Irish House of Commons and Lady Elizabeth Cavendish, daughter of the 3rd Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire
William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, KG, PC was a British nobleman and Whig politician, the son of William Cavendish, 2nd Duke of Devonshire and Hon. Rachel Russell....
. He was invested as a Privy Counsellor of Ireland in 1784. He served as Joint Postmaster-General of Ireland
Postmasters General of Ireland
The Postmasters General of Ireland, held by two people simultaneously, was a new appointment set up as part of the establishment of the Irish Post Office independent from that of Great Britain, by the Act 23, 24 George III in 1784. The post lasted nearly fifty years...
(1784–1789).
Political career
Ponsonby was educated at Trinity College, CambridgeTrinity College, Cambridge
Trinity College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Trinity has more members than any other college in Cambridge or Oxford, with around 700 undergraduates, 430 graduates, and over 170 Fellows...
. He represented Cork City
Cork City (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Cork City was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.-Boundaries and boundary changes:...
between 1764 and 1776 and thereafter Bandonbridge
Bandonbridge (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Bandonbridge was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons to 1800.-Boundaries and Boundary Changes:This constituency was based in the town of Bandon in County Cork....
between 1776 and 1783. He was the leader of a powerful family grouping of between ten and fourteen MPs, the second largest in the Irish House of Commons
Irish House of Commons
The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland, that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the House of Lords...
. During the regency crisis of 1788-9 he gave his support to the Prince of Wales
George IV of the United Kingdom
George IV was the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and also of Hanover from the death of his father, George III, on 29 January 1820 until his own death ten years later...
in opposition to William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger
William Pitt the Younger was a British politician of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He became the youngest Prime Minister in 1783 at the age of 24 . He left office in 1801, but was Prime Minister again from 1804 until his death in 1806...
. As a consequence he was dismissed from the Post Office. Thereafter he permanently aligned himself with Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
and together with his brother George
George Ponsonby
George Ponsonby PC , was a British lawyer and Whig politician. He served as Lord Chancellor of Ireland from 1806 to 1807 in the Ministry of All the Talents.-Background and education:...
gathered together the various small groups of Irish whigs into a unified opposition. As with their English counterparts, their ultimate objective was to re-establish the influence of the landowning classes at the expense of the crown. Ponsonby became committed to the cause of Catholic Emancipation
Catholic Emancipation
Catholic emancipation or Catholic relief was a process in Great Britain and Ireland in the late 18th century and early 19th century which involved reducing and removing many of the restrictions on Roman Catholics which had been introduced by the Act of Uniformity, the Test Acts and the penal laws...
, as a means of securing a loyal population at a time of radical agitation and potential foreign invasion.
Pitt's coalition with the Portland
William Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland
William Henry Cavendish-Bentinck, 3rd Duke of Portland, KG, PC was a British Whig and Tory statesman, Chancellor of the University of Oxford and Prime Minister. He was known before 1762 by the courtesy title Marquess of Titchfield. He held a title of every degree of British nobility—Duke,...
whigs in July 1794 and Earl FitzWilliam's
William FitzWilliam, 4th Earl FitzWilliam
William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam, 4th Earl Fitzwilliam PC , styled Viscount Milton until 1756, was a British Whig statesman of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. In 1782 he inherited his uncle Charles Watson-Wentworth, 2nd Marquess of Rockingham's estates, making him one of the richest people in...
consequent appointment as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
Lord Lieutenant of Ireland
The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland was the British King's representative and head of the Irish executive during the Lordship of Ireland , the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
gave Ponsonby and his allies an opportunity to regain office. He was on the brink of becoming Irish secretary of state and had sat on the Treasury bench. In 1795, however, he appears to have persuaded FitzWilliam to dismiss John Beresford from his post as first commissioner of the revenue on the grounds of alleged corruption, apparently in revenge for earlier political dealings. The subsequent political crisis led in 1795 to FitzWilliam's swift removal from office, Beresford's re-instatement, and to Ponsonby's humiliating return to opposition.
Ponsonby was a leading opponent of the union between Ireland and Great Britain. In 1783, he stood for Newtownards
Newtownards (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Newtownards was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-1692–1801:...
and Kilkenny County
Kilkenny County (Parliament of Ireland constituency)
Kilkenny County was a constituency represented in the Irish House of Commons until 1800.-History:In the Patriot Parliament of 1689 summoned by King James II, Kilkenny County was represented with two members.-1689–1801:...
. He chose the latter constituency and sat for it from 1783 until the Act of Union
Act of Union 1800
The Acts of Union 1800 describe two complementary Acts, namely:* the Union with Ireland Act 1800 , an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain, and...
came into force in 1801. He became then part of the Foxite
Foxite
The term Foxite generally refers to an 18th or 19th century British Whig politician who adhered to the ideals and political beliefs of Charles James Fox, the 18th century member of parliament and leader of the Whig party....
Whig opposition in the Westminster House of Commons, voting against the Addington
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth
Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, PC was a British statesman, and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1804....
and Pitt ministries and in favour of the Prince of Wales and Catholic Emancipation. His influence was declining, however, and by 1803 effective leadership of the Irish whigs had passed to his brother George.
Peerage
By the time FoxCharles James Fox
Charles James Fox PC , styled The Honourable from 1762, was a prominent British Whig statesman whose parliamentary career spanned thirty-eight years of the late 18th and early 19th centuries and who was particularly noted for being the arch-rival of William Pitt the Younger...
regained office in 1806 as member of Grenville's Ministry of All the Talents
Ministry of All the Talents
The Ministry of All the Talents was a national unity government formed by William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville on his appointment as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom on 11 February 1806 after the death of William Pitt the Younger...
, Ponsonby's health was poor, with the result that his wife urgently pressed his claims for a peerage, arguing that it was merited by his opposition to the Regency Bill and the Union, and by his staunch support for the Foxite whigs at Westminster. As a consequence he was raised swiftly to the peerage of the United Kingdom
Peerage of the United Kingdom
The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of Union in 1801, when it replaced the Peerage of Great Britain...
on 13 March 1806. He was gazetted as 'Baron Ponsonby, of Imokilly in the County of Cork', although other sources generally refer to him as 'Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly'. He died in Seymour Street, London, on 5 November 1806, and was buried in Ireland.
Testimonials
At a personal level Edmund BurkeEdmund Burke
Edmund Burke PC was an Irish statesman, author, orator, political theorist and philosopher who, after moving to England, served for many years in the House of Commons of Great Britain as a member of the Whig party....
described Ponsonby in a letter to Lord Charlemont
James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont
James Caulfeild, 1st Earl of Charlemont KP PC was an Irish statesman.The son of the 3rd Viscount Charlemont, he was born in Dublin, and succeeded his father as 4th Viscount in 1734...
as "a manly, decided character, with ... a clear and vigorous understanding." He was as interested in sport as he was in politics and was said to have kept ‘the best hunting establishment in Ireland’ at Bishopscourt
Bishopscourt, County Kildare
Bishopscourt is a townland and historic site in County Kildare, Ireland near Kill, Ardclough and Straffan and beside the N7 road. The estate was once held by the Bishops of Kildare.-Calendar and historical references:...
, his seat in County Kildare
County Kildare
County Kildare is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the local authority for the county...
, where it was also reported that he lived ‘in the most hospitable and princely style’ (GEC, Peerage). In addition, he was easily irritated, especially if his status and pretensions went unacknowledged. Thus, although he took a leading part in creating a whig opposition in Ireland in the 1790s, he overplayed his hand under FitzWilliam, and his effectiveness was thereafter limited.
Family
In 1769 Ponsonby married Louisa Molesworth (1749–1824), 4th daughter of the 3rd Viscount MolesworthRichard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth
Field Marshal Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, PC , styled The Honourable Richard Molesworth from 1716 to 1726, was an Anglo-Irish military officer, politician and nobleman.-Military career:...
, and his second wife, Mary Usher. They had five sons, three of whom were men of note: the eldest John Ponsonby, 1st Viscount Ponsonby of Imokilly was a diplomat; the second, Hon. Sir William Ponsonby, a major-general in the army, was killed at The Battle of Waterloo; the third, Richard Ponsonby
Richard Ponsonby
The Rt. Rev. and Hon. Richard Ponsonby was an Irish clergyman who held high office in the Church of Ireland.-Life:He was born at Dublin in 1772, the third son of William Ponsonby, 1st Baron Ponsonby of Imokilly and Louisa Molesworth. He was educated at the University of Dublin, where he graduated...
, became bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora
Bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora
The Bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora was the Ordinary of the Church of Ireland diocese of Killaloe and Kilfenora in the Province of Cashel; comprising all of County Clare and the northern part of County Tipperary, Ireland....
in 1828, Derry
Bishop of Derry
The Bishop of Derry is an episcopal title which takes its name after the city of Derry in Northern Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bishopric.-History:...
in 1831 and Derry and Raphoe
Bishop of Derry and Raphoe
The Bishop of Derry and Raphoe is the Church of Ireland Ordinary of the united Diocese of Derry and Raphoe in the Province of Armagh.The united diocese has two Episcopal sees, one at St Columb's Cathedral, Derry in Northern Ireland, and the other at the Cathedral Church of St. Eunan, Raphoe in the...
in 1834. Their only daughter Mary was married to the Prime Minister, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey
Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, KG, PC , known as Viscount Howick between 1806 and 1807, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 22 November 1830 to 16 July 1834. A member of the Whig Party, he backed significant reform of the British government and was among the...
. Ponsonby's descendants include Sir Alec Douglas-Home
Alec Douglas-Home
Alexander Frederick Douglas-Home, Baron Home of the Hirsel, KT, PC , known as The Earl of Home from 1951 to 1963 and as Sir Alec Douglas-Home from 1963 to 1974, was a British Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from October 1963 to October 1964.He is the last...
and Prince William of Wales
Prince William of Wales
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge KG , is the elder son of Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales, and third eldest grandchild of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
.