Edward Southwell Sr.

Edward Southwell Sr. (4 September 1671 – 4 December 1730) was an Anglo-Irish lawyer and politician.

Edward Southwell Sr. in 1702

Biography

He was the second but only surviving son of Sir Robert Southwell of Kings Weston, near Bristol and educated at Kensington School, Lincoln's Inn (1686) and Merton College, Oxford (1687).^[1]

He served in a number of high public offices including Chief Prothonotary of the Common Pleas in Ireland (1692–1700), clerk of the Privy Council (1693 to death), judge of the Admiralty court and vice-admiral of Munster (1699 to death). He was several times joint commissioner of the Privy Seal (1701–1702, 1715 and 1716). He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1692 and twice served on their council.^[2]

He sat in the Irish House of Commons for Kinsale from 1692 to 1699, for Dublin University from 1703 to 1713 and then again for Kinsale from 1713 to his death.^[3]

In 1702 Southwell succeeded his father as Principal Secretary of State (Ireland) and was appointed to the Privy Council of Ireland the same year. Both appointments were for life.^[4]

He sat in the House of Commons of England and the House of Commons of Great Britain between 1702 and 1715 as MP for Rye, Tregony and Preston.^[5]

 

Kings Weston House, Bristol

In 1712 he commissioned Sir John Vanbrugh to build Kings Weston House in Kingsweston, Bristol.

He died in 1730 and was buried at Kingsweston. He had married Elizabeth Cromwell, 8th Baroness Cromwell, who died in 1709, and their son Edward Southwell succeeded in turn to the Secretaryship and to the Kings Weston estate. He had later married Anne, daughter of William Blathwaite of Derham, Gloucestershire.

References

1. "SOUTHWELL, Edward (1671–1730), of Kings Weston, Glos. and Spring Garden, Westminster". History of Parliament Online. Retrieved 15 January 2017.
2. "Fellows Details". Royal Society. Retrieved 15 January 2017.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. Leigh Rayment's historical . Cites: Johnston-Liik, Edith Mary (2002). The History of the Irish Parliament 1692-1800 (6 volumes). Ulster Historical Foundation.
4. . Archived from the original on 7 June 2008. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
5. "SOUTHWELL, Edward (1671-1730), of Kings Weston, Glos. And Spring Garden, Westminster | History of Parliament Online".

Parliament of Ireland
Preceded by Andrew Murrogh Miles de Courcy	Member of Parliament for Kinsale 1692–1703 With: Jonas Stawell 1692–95 James Weller 1695–1703	Succeeded by William Southwell Henry Hawley
Preceded by William Crowe Richard Aldworth	Member of Parliament for Dublin University 1703–1713 With: Sir William Robinson	Succeeded by Marmaduke Coghill John Elwood
Preceded by William Southwell Henry Hawley	Member of Parliament for Kinsale 1713–1731 With: Henry Hawley to 1725 Anthony Stawell 1725 Sir Richard Meade, Bt from 1725	Succeeded by Gervais Parker Sir Richard Meade, Bt
Parliament of England
Preceded by Joseph Offley Thomas Fagg	Member of Parliament for Rye 1702–1707 With: Thomas Fagg to 1705 Philip Herbert from 1705	Succeeded by Parliament of Great Britain
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by Parliament of England	Member of Parliament for Rye 1707–1708 With: Philip Herbert to December 1707 Phillips Gybbon from December 1707	Succeeded by Phillips Gybbon Sir John Norris
Preceded by Viscount Rialton George Robinson	Member of Parliament for Tregony April 1713 – September 1713 With: George Robinson	Succeeded by James Craggs Sir Edmund Prideaux, Bt
Preceded by Sir Henry Hoghton, Bt Henry Fleetwood	Member of Parliament for Preston 1713–1715 With: Henry Fleetwood	Succeeded by Sir Henry Hoghton, Bt Henry Fleetwood
Political offices
Preceded by Sir Robert Southwell	Secretary of State 1702–1730	Succeeded by Edward Southwell
Preceded by Francis Gwyn	Chief Secretary for Ireland 1703–1707	Succeeded by George Dodington
Preceded by Joseph Addison	Chief Secretary for Ireland 1710–1713	Succeeded by Sir John Stanley