Arthur Jones-Nevill ( – 24 September 1771) was an Irish politician. He served as

Surveyor General of Ireland The office of Surveyor General of Ireland was an appointed officer under the Dublin Castle administration of Ireland in the 17th and 18th centuries.McParland 1995 The Surveyor General was typically responsible for the surveying, design and constru ...

from 1743, and later as a Member of the

Parliament of Ireland The Parliament of Ireland () was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until the end of 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two chambers: the Irish Hou ...

, although he lost both positions following allegations of maladministration and

peculation Embezzlement (from Anglo-Norman, from Old French ''besillier'' ("to torment, etc."), of unknown origin) is a type of financial crime, usually involving theft of money from a business or employer. It often involves a trusted individual taking ...

. He later returned to Parliament, serving until his death. Born Arthur Jones, he was the son of Colonel Edward Jones of

Wexford Wexford ( ; archaic Yola dialect, Yola: ''Weiseforthe'') is the county town of County Wexford, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the ...

and Mary, daughter of Richard Nevill of Furness,

County Kildare County Kildare () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Eastern and Midland Region. It is named after the town of Kildare. Kildare County Council is the Local gove ...

. As Nevill's only grandson, he adopted the surname Nevill before succeeding to that family's property in 1750. In November 1742 he married Elinor, daughter of Rear Admiral Christopher Parker and sister of Admiral Sir Peter Parker. By 1742 he was a member of the Dublin Society for improving Husbandry, Manufactures and other Useful Arts and Sciences. In 1743 Jones-Nevill purchased the office of

for £3,300 from the previous Surveyor,

Arthur Dobbs Arthur Dobbs (2 April 1689 – 28 March 1765) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator who served as the governor of North Carolina from 1754 to 1764. Early life and career Arthur Dobbs was born in Girvan, Ayrshire where his mot ...

. He was appointed by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

of 15 June 1743, issued by

Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset Lionel Cranfield Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset (18 January 168810 October 1765) was a British politician who served as Lord President of the Council from 1745 to 1751. He also twice served as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1730 to 1737 and aga ...

Lord Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the K ...

. During his time in office he drew plans for barracks at

Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold w ...

and for the Bedford Tower range at

Dublin Castle Dublin Castle () is a major Government of Ireland, Irish government complex, conference centre, and tourist attraction. It is located off Dame Street in central Dublin. It is a former motte-and-bailey castle and was chosen for its position at ...

. In 1751, Jones-Nevill entered the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

as MP for

County Wexford County Wexford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was ba ...

. He was dismissed from the post of Surveyor General on 30 August 1752, following accusations of maladministration: he had failed to procure contractors for the upkeep of Ireland's barracks, one of his primary responsibilities as Surveyor General. However, he managed to sell the office on to his successor, Thomas Eyre. The "politically motivated" affair continued until the following year, when on 23 November 1753, he was expelled from Parliament. During the 1750s, attempts were made by John Rochfort, MP for Mullingar, to recoup the losses caused, through the introduction of several unsuccessful bills intended "To oblige Arthur Jones Nevill, esquire, late engineer and surveyor-general, at his own expense, and without any further charge to the public, to make good the defects in the several barracks, built, re-built and repaired under his direction, and to complete the same in the most effectual manner, according to the several contracts entered into for that purpose." Jones-Nevill was a patron of the arts, installing a continental

stucco Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...

ceiling in his new house at 40 St Stephen's Green, later known as Tracton House. When the house was demolished in 1912 the ceiling stucco work was transferred to the state apartments in Dublin Castle. He subscribed to a number of books on

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

and

surveying Surveying or land surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the land, terrestrial Plane (mathematics), two-dimensional or Three-dimensional space#In Euclidean geometry, three-dimensional positions of Point (geom ...

. He was also known for having sent the painter Jacob Ennis to Italy in 1753–1757. In 1761, he returned to Parliament as MP for Wexford Borough. He introduced a number of bills, including proposals "For the further encouragement of planting timber trees" (1765) and "For the better regulating of buildings in the city of Dublin, the liberties and suburbs thereof" (1769). He was appointed

High Sheriff of Kildare The High Sheriff of Kildare was the British Crown's judicial representative in County Kildare, Ireland from the 16th century until 1922, when the office was abolished in the new Free State and replaced by the office of Kildare County Sheriff. Th ...

for 1762–63. His eldest son

Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...

took over his Wexford parliamentary seat on his death in 1771.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones-Nevill, Arthur Year of birth uncertain 1710s births 1771 deaths High sheriffs of Kildare Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Wexford constituencies Irish MPs 1727–1760 Irish MPs 1761–1768 Irish MPs 1769–1776 Expelled legislators Surveyors General of Ireland