Colonel Henry Cecil Lowther, DL, JP (27 July 1790 – 6 December 1867) was an English

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

politician and an amateur

cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by str ...

er who played

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officia ...

from 1819 to 1843. His long service in the House of Commons saw him become the Father of the House.

Early life

Lowther was born on 27 July 1790 at

Lowther Castle Lowther Castle is a country house in the historic county of Westmorland, which now forms part of the modern county of Cumbria, England. It has belonged to the Lowther family, latterly the Earls of Lonsdale, since the Middle Ages. It is a f ...

Westmorland Westmorland (, formerly also spelt ''Westmoreland'';R. Wilkinson The British Isles, Sheet The British IslesVision of Britain/ref> is a historic county in North West England spanning the southern Lake District and the northern Dales. It had an ...

. He was the second son of

William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale William Lowther, 1st Earl of Lonsdale, KG (29 December 175719 March 1844), also known as Sir William Lowther, 2nd Baronet, of Little Preston, from 1788 to 1802, and William Lowther, 2nd Viscount Lowther, from 1802 to 1807, was a British Tory po ...

, and his wife Lady Augusta ( née Fane) (eldest daughter of John Fane, 9th Earl of Westmorland and, his first wife, Augusta Bertie, a granddaughter of

Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven Robert Bertie, 1st Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven PC (20 October 1660 – 26 July 1723), ''styled'' 17th Baron Willoughby de Eresby between 1666 and 1701, and known as 4th Earl of Lindsey between 1701 and 1706, and as 1st Marquess of Lindsey ...

). Lowther was Educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

Career

He entered the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

on 16 July 1807 as a cornet in the 7th Hussars. He was promoted lieutenant on 21 July 1808 and captain on 4 October 1810. He served with the 7th Hussars during the campaign of 1809 in Spain, including the battles of Mayorga, Sahagún, Benevente, and the retreat to Corunna. From 1812 until 1814, he was in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

's army during the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

, and was made a major in the

10th Hussars The 10th Royal Hussars (Prince of Wales's Own) was a cavalry regiment of the British Army raised in 1715. It saw service for three centuries including the First World War and Second World War but then amalgamated with the 11th Hussars (Prince Al ...

on 12 November 1815. He received the Peninsular Medal with three clasps after the war. On 20 April 1817 he went into the 12th Regiment of Foot as a

lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colo ...

, with which rank he retired on half-pay. In 1830, he transferred to the

44th Foot The 44th Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment in the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 56th (West Essex) Regiment of Foot to form the Essex Regiment in 1881. History Early history The regime ...

. He raised six part-time

Troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Tr ...

s of Westmorland Yeomanry Cavalry across Westmorland and Cumberland at his own expense in 1819 and commanded them until he was appointed

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge o ...

of the Royal Cumberland Militia in 1830.

Political career

First elected in 1812 for

, a constituency long in the family interest, he continued to be returned until his death on 6 December 1867 at Barleythorpe Hall, Rutland. In 1862, he became Father of the House. He was the last MP elected during the reign of

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

Cricket career

Between 1818 and 1839, Lowther played in 47

matches. A right-handed

batsman In cricket, batting is the act or skill of hitting the cricket ball, ball with a cricket bat, bat to score runs (cricket), runs and prevent the dismissal (cricket), loss of one's wicket. Any player who is currently batting is, since Septembe ...

and right arm slow

roundarm In cricket, roundarm bowling is a bowling style that was introduced in the first quarter of the 19th century and largely superseded underarm bowling by the 1830s. Using a roundarm action, the bowlers extend their arm about 90 degrees from their ...

bowler, he played most frequently for MCC.Henry Lowther
CricketArchive. Retrieved 2008-11-18. He played for the Gentlemen in the

Gentlemen v Players Gentlemen v Players was a long-running series of English first-class cricket matches. Two matches were played in 1806, but the fixture was not played again until 1819. It became an annual event, usually played at least twice each season, exc ...

series and also played once for both

Hampshire Hampshire (, ; abbreviated to Hants) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in western South East England on the coast of the English Channel. Home to two major English cities on its south coast, Southampton and Portsmouth, Hampshire ...

and Surrey sides.''The Times'', 7, 9, 16 Dec.; F. Lillywhite, ''Cricket Scores and Biogs''. (1860), i. 399; ''Sporting Gazette'', 14 December 1867; ''Gent. Mag.'' (1868), i. 108.

Personal life

On 19 May 1817, Lowther was married to Lady Lucy Eleanor Sherard, daughter of

Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough Philip Sherard, 5th Earl of Harborough (10 October 1767 – 10 December 1807), styled Lord Sherard from 1770 to 1799, was a British peer and politician. Early life Sherard was the eldest son of Robert Sherard, 4th Earl of Harborough and his wife ...

and the former Eleanor Monckton (second daughter and co-heiress of Col. Hon. John Monckton of

Fineshade Abbey Fineshade Priory was a priory of Augustinian Canons Regular in Northamptonshire, England. The remains of the site are about north-east of Corby along the A43 road. It was founded before 1208 by Richard Engayne (Engain), Lord of Blatherwycke on ...

, eldest son, by his second wife, of

John Monckton, 1st Viscount Galway John Monckton (1695 – 15 July 1751) of Serlby, Nottinghamshire, was a British landowner and Whig politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1727 and 1751. He was elevated to the Irish peerage as the first Viscount Galway in 1727. Ear ...

). Together, they were the parents of seven children, three sons and four daughters, including: * Lady Eleanor Cecily Lowther (d. 1894), who married John Talbot Clifton, eldest son and heir of Thomas Clifton of Clifton Hall and Lytham Hall, in 1844. * Lady Augusta Mary Lowther (d. 1916), who married the Hon. Gerard Noel, a son of

Charles Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough Charles Noel Noel, 1st Earl of Gainsborough (2 October 1781 – 10 June 1866), known as Charles Edwardes until 1798, as Charles Noel between 1798 and 1823 and as the Lord Barham between 1823 and 1841, was a British peer and Whig politician. Ear ...

. * Henry Lowther, 3rd Earl of Lonsdale (1818–1876), who married Emily Susan Caulfeild, the daughter of St George Caulfeild of

Donamon Castle Donamon, or more correctly, Dunamon Castle ( ga, Dún Iomáin) is one of the oldest inhabited buildings in Ireland and stands on raised ground overlooking the River Suck in County Roscommon. There was a fort here from early times (hence the name ...

. * Arthur Lowther (1820–1855), who died unmarried. * William Lowther (1821–1912), who married Hon. Charlotte Alice Parke, third daughter and co-heiress of James Parke, 1st Baron Wensleydale, in 1853. * Constantia Lowther (1831–1864), who married Maj.-Gen. Robert Blücher Wood, fifth son of Col. Thomas Wood and wife Lady Caroline Stewart (a daughter of

Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry Robert Stewart, 1st Marquess of Londonderry PC (Ire) (1739–1821), was a County Down landowner, Irish Volunteer, and member of the parliament who, exceptionally for an Ulster Scot and Presbyterian, rose within the ranks of Ireland's "Angl ...

) in 1850. Lady Lucy died 8 June 1848. Lowther died on 6 December 1867. In 1873, his children were granted the style and precedence of the younger son of an Earl by Royal Warrant.

Notes

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lowther, Henry 1790 births 1867 deaths 7th Queen's Own Hussars officers 10th Royal Hussars officers Suffolk Regiment officers British Militia officers British Army personnel of the Napoleonic Wars Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies People educated at Westminster School, London UK MPs 1812–1818 UK MPs 1818–1820 UK MPs 1820–1826 UK MPs 1826–1830 UK MPs 1830–1831 UK MPs 1831–1832 UK MPs 1832–1835 UK MPs 1835–1837 UK MPs 1837–1841 UK MPs 1841–1847 UK MPs 1847–1852 UK MPs 1852–1857 UK MPs 1857–1859 UK MPs 1859–1865 UK MPs 1865–1868 Younger sons of earls 44th Regiment of Foot officers Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry officers English cricketers English cricketers of 1787 to 1825 English cricketers of 1826 to 1863 Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Gentlemen cricketers Hampshire cricketers Surrey cricketers

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

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