Hercules Rowley (1679 – 19 September 1742) was an Anglo-Irish politician.

Early life

He was the only son of Sir John Rowley who was knighted for his services at the time of the

Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration *Restoration ecology ...

and the former Mary Langford eldest daughter and heiress of Sir Hercules Langford, 1st Baronet. Among his sisters were Lettice Rowley wife of

Arthur Loftus, 3rd Viscount Loftus Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...

, Anne Rowley wife of Sir Tristram Beresford, 1st Baronet, and Mary Rowley wife of

John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene John Clotworthy, 1st Viscount Massereene (died September 1665) was a prominent Anglo-Irish politician. Origins He was the son and heir of Sir Hugh Clotworthy (died 1630), High Sheriff of Antrim (who first came to Ireland as a soldier in the Nin ...

. In 1661, his grandfather Hercules Langford bought Lynch's Castle (located on the Summerhill Demesne in

County Meath County Meath (; gle, Contae na Mí or simply ) is a county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Ireland, within the province of Leinster. It is bordered by Dublin to the southeast, Louth to the northeast, Kildare to the south, Offaly to the ...

) and many other townlands from The Rt Rev. Dr. Henry Jones, the Lord Bishop of Meath.

Career

Rowley was a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

for

County Londonderry County Londonderry (Ulster-Scots: ''Coontie Lunnonderrie''), also known as County Derry ( ga, Contae Dhoire), is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the thirty two counties of Ireland and one of the nine counties of Ulste ...

in the

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. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a highly restrictive fr ...

between 1703 and his death in 1742. He was the uncle, by marriage, of the politician Henry Maxwell, with whom he clashed over proposals in 1721 to establish the

Bank of Ireland Bank of Ireland Group plc ( ga, Banc na hÉireann) is a commercial bank operation in Ireland and one of the traditional Big Four Irish banks. Historically the premier banking organisation in Ireland, the Bank occupies a unique position in Irish ...

Personal life

On 3 January 1705, Rowley was married to Frances Upton, the sixth daughter of Arthur Upton of

Castle Upton Castle Upton is situated in the village of Templepatrick, in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is around north-west of Belfast. Originally the site of a 13th-century fortified priory of the Knights of St John, the present building was constr ...

in County Antrium. Together, they were the parents of: * Dorothy Beresford Rowley, who married

Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt Richard Wingfield, 1st Viscount Powerscourt, PC ({{circa1550 – 9 September 1634){{sfn, Dunlop, Barry, 2004 was an English-born army officer and military administrator during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.{{sfn, Dunlop, Barry, 2004 He is ...

, the son of Edward Wingfield and Eleanor ( Gore) Wingfield (daughter of

Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet Sir Arthur Gore, 1st Baronet (c. 1640 – 20 December 1697) was an Irish soldier and politician. Gore was the second son of Sir Paul Gore, 1st Baronet and his wife Isabella Wycliffe, daughter of Francis Wycliffe. In 1656, he was High Sher ...

), in 1727. *

Hercules Langford Rowley Hercules Langford Rowley PC ( – 25 March 1794) was an Irish politician and landowner. Early life Rowley was born . He was the only son of Frances (née Upton) Rowley and Hercules Rowley, a Member of Parliament for County Londonderry from 1703 ...

(–1794), who married Elizabeth Ormsby Upton, the only daughter of Clotworthy Upton (MP for the borough of Newton and

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

) and Jane Ormsby (daughter of John Ormsby MP for

Kilmallock Kilmallock () is a town in south County Limerick, Ireland, near the border with County Cork. There is a Dominican Priory in the town and King's Castle (or King John's Castle). The remains of medieval walls which encircled the settlement are sti ...

), in 1732. Rowley died on 19 September 1742.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Hercules 1679 births 1742 deaths 17th-century Anglo-Irish people 18th-century Anglo-Irish people Irish MPs 1703–1713 Irish MPs 1715–1727 Irish MPs 1727–1760 Members of the Parliament of Ireland (pre-1801) for County Londonderry constituencies