Chauncy Townsend (23 February 1708 – 28 March 1770) was a

City of London The City of London, also known as ''the City'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and Districts of England, local government district with City status in the United Kingdom, city status in England. It is the Old town, his ...

merchant and a Member of Parliament in the

Parliament of Great Britain The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in May 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union 1707, Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The Acts ratified the treaty of Union which created a ...

. He was prominent in developing coalmines in the

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

area of

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and in supplying settler needs in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Career

The son of Jonathan Townsend, he started his business career as a London linen draper, before becoming a merchant in about 1740. He developed extensive interests in coal mines in the Swansea area, along with mining, smelting, and refining copper and lead. From 1744, he was as a government contractor supplying military and settler needs in

. By the time of his death, most of Townsend's money had been consumed by the mining business.

Parliament

Townsend was a regular supporter, in the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

, of whatever government the King appointed. He represented Westbury between 1748 and 1768. He was elected for

Wigtown Burghs Wigtown Burghs, also known as Wigton Burghs and Wigtown District of Burghs, was a United Kingdom constituencies, constituency of the House of Commons of Great Britain, House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1800 and of ...

in 1768 and sat for them until his death in 1770. He was the second Englishman to be elected and the first to actually sit in Parliament, for any Scottish constituency. Despite being a Member of Parliament for 22 years, he is not recorded as ever having spoken in the House.

Family

Townsend married Bridget Phipps, daughter of James Phipps in May 1730. Among their children were James Townsend MP and

Joseph Townsend Joseph Townsend (4 April 1739 – 9 November 1816) was a British medical doctor, geologist and rector of Pewsey in Wiltshire, perhaps best known for his 1786 treatise ''A Dissertation on the Poor Laws'' in which he expounded a naturalistic theo ...

References

*''History of Parliament: House of Commons 1754-1790'', by Sir

Lewis Namier Sir Lewis Bernstein Namier (; 27 June 1888 – 19 August 1960) was a British historian of Polish-Jewish background. His best-known works were '' The Structure of Politics at the Accession of George III'' (1929), ''England in the Age of the Ame ...

and

James Brooke James Brooke (29 April 1803 – 11 June 1868), was a British soldier and adventurer who founded the Raj of Sarawak in Borneo. He ruled as the first White Rajahs, White Rajah of Sarawak from 1841 until his death in 1868. Brooke was born and ra ...

(Sidgwick & Jackson 1964) * 1708 births 1770 deaths Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Scottish constituencies British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761 British MPs 1761–1768 British MPs 1768–1774 18th-century British merchants {{England-GreatBritain-MP-stub