Peniston Powney (c. 1699–1757) of Ives Place,

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

, Berkshire was a British landowner and Tory politician who sat 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 ...

from 1739 to 1757. Powney was the eldest son of John Powney, MP of

Old Windsor Old Windsor is a village and civil parish, in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, in Berkshire, England. It is bounded by the River Thames to the east and the Windsor Great Park to the west. Etymology The name originates from old Eng ...

, Berkshire and his wife Hannah Whitfield, daughter of John Whitfield of Ives Place, Maidenhead. In 1704 he succeeded to the considerable estates in Berkshire on the death of his father. He was admitted at

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1712 and was educated at

Eton College Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...

in about 1716. He matriculated at

The Queen's College, Oxford The Queen's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford, England. The college was founded in 1341 by Robert de Eglesfield in honour of Philippa of Hainault, queen of England. It is distinguished by its predominantly neoclassi ...

on 5 July 1716, aged 17 and was awarded MA on 15 March 1721. In 1736 he was appointed Verderer of Windsor Forest, retaining the post for the rest of his life. He married Penelope Portlock, daughter of Benjamin Portlock of Bedford, on 16 October 1742. Powney was returned as Tory Member of Parliament for

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

at a by-election on 5 December 1739. He voted consistently against the Government. He was returned unopposed at the

1741 British general election The 1741 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 9th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw suppo ...

and at the

1747 British general election The 1747 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 10th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. The election saw Hen ...

. He spoke against the Hanoverians on 18 January 1744. He was one of the prominent Tories who agreed to support

Frederick, Prince of Wales Frederick, Prince of Wales (Frederick Louis, German: ''Friedrich Ludwig''; 31 January 1707 – 31 March 1751) was the eldest son and heir apparent of King George II of Great Britain. He grew estranged from his parents, King George and Queen C ...

’s programme in 1747, and was he was marked by the 2nd Lord Egmont for a seat on the Admiralty board on Frederick’s accession. His son, Peniston Portlock Powney, told the younger Pitt that he considered himself to have lost 20,000 pounds by his father’s connection with the Prince owing among other things to a large loan incurred during the Prince’s residence at Cliveden, which was undischarged on Frederick’s death. Powney was returned without a contest at the

1754 British general election The 1754 British general election returned members to serve in the House of Commons of the 11th Parliament of Great Britain to be summoned, after the merger of the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland in 1707. Owing to the exten ...

. On 23 April 1755 he spoke on the Tory side in the debate on the Oxfordshire election. Powney died on 8 March 1757 leaving a son and other issue.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Powney, Peniston 1690s births 1757 deaths People educated at Eton College Alumni of the Queen's College, Oxford Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for Berkshire British MPs 1734–1741 British MPs 1741–1747 British MPs 1747–1754 British MPs 1754–1761