Townshend Mainwaring

Townshend Mainwaring (16 March 1807 – 25 December 1883) was a British Conservative Party politician.

Townshend Mainwaring MP JP
Member of Parliament for Denbigh Boroughs
In office 31 March 1857 – 19 November 1868
Preceded by	Frederick Richard West
Succeeded by	Charles James Watkin Williams
In office 3 July 1841 – 29 July 1847
Preceded by	Wilson Jones
Succeeded by	Frederick Richard West
Personal details
Born	16 March 1807
Died	25 December 1883(1883-12-25) (aged 76) Galltfaenan Hall, Trefnant, Denbighshire, Wales
Nationality	British
Political party	Conservative
Spouse(s)	Anna Maria Salusbury ( m. 1837)
Parents	Charles Mainwaring Sarah Townshend

Family

Townshend Mainwaring was born on 16 March 1807. He was the second son of the Reverend Charles Mainwaring, of Oteley Park, Ellesmere, Shropshire, and Sarah Susannah Townshend, daughter of John Townshend of Hem, Denbighshire. He attended Rugby School and then Brasenose College, Oxford.[1][lower-alpha 1]

Mainwaring married Anna Maria Salusbury, the eldest daughter of Colonel John Lloyd Salusbury of Galltfaenan Hall, in February 1837, at which time Mainwaring was living at Marchwiel Hall. The couple went on to have two sons – Charles Salusbury Mainwaring and Reginald Kynaston Mainwaring – and two daughters.[3][4]

Political career

Mainwaring became a magistrate in December 1837.[3] Subsequently, he became the first of his family to be elected MP since George Mainwaring (1642-1695).[5] Described as a Liberal Conservative and a Peelite,[6] he was first elected for Denbigh Boroughs in 1841 but stood down at the 1847 election. He returned to parliament for the same seat in 1857 and held it until 1868.[3]

Other activities

In 1840, Mainwaring was High Sheriff of Denbighshire, and he was also at some point a Justice of the Peace for Denbighshire and the first Major of the Denbighshire Rifle Volunteers.[6][7] He was one of the chairman of the National Eisteddfod of Wales when it was held at Ruthin in 1868,[8] days after sustaining severe injuries to his leg when his horse fell on him,[9] and was involved with other similar events, including that at Rhyl in 1863.[10] Considered to be a good musician, he also composed music.[11][12]

Mainwaring, who lived at Galltfaenan Hall in Denbighshire after his marriage, had a considerable involvement with the Vale of Clwyd Railway,[13] was involved with the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways[14] and supported the construction of the Chester and Holyhead Railway. He continued to own Marchwiel until his death at Galltfaenan on 25 December 1883, and also property and lands in other places.[lower-alpha 2] An obituary noted his benevolent financing of the construction of a church, parsonage and schools in Trefnant, in memory of his father-in-law, as well as a convalescent home for men in Rhyl. He was also noted to be a supporter of a women's home in Rhyl and of the same town's Royal Alexandra Hospital.[6][16][17] He was buried at Trefnant's Holy Trinity church.[18]

References

Notes

1. Hem is probably Hem House, in Rossett, near Wrexham.[2]
2. An example of other property owned by Mainwaring was Foryd Hall in Rhyl, which he had built and which was demolished due to being unsafe just before World War II. Rhyl Pleasure Beach now covers the site.[15]

Citations

1. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench. 1868. p. 175.
2. Finlay, Reginald Mainwaring (1890). A Short History of the Mainwaring Family. Griffiith, Farran, Creeden & Welsh (private circulation). p. 55.
3. "Death of Mr Townshend Mainwaring". Wrexham and Denbighshire Advertiser and Cheshire Shropshire and North Wales Register. 28 December 1883. p. 5. hdl:10107/4590376.
4. "Gallfaenan MSS". Denbighshire Record Office. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
5. Henning, Basil Duke, ed. (1983). The House of Commons, 1660–1690. Boydell & Brewer. pp. 3–4. ISBN 978-0-43619-274-6.
6. "Death of Townshend Mainwaring Esq Galltfaenan". The Rhyl Advertiser. 29 December 1883. p. 3. hdl:10107/3852285.
7. "The New Volunteer Drill Hall". Denbighshire Free Press. 28 October 1882. p. 5. hdl:10107/3609911.
8. "The Eisteddfod". Flintshire Observer Mining Journal and General Advertiser for the Counties of Flint Denbigh. 7 August 1868. p. 4. hdl:10107/3749064.
9. "No title". The Cardiff and Merthyr Guardian Glamorgan Monmouth and Brecon Gazette. 1 August 1868. p. 5. hdl:10107/3096021.
10. "Thursday". The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality. 29 August 1863. p. 15. hdl:10107/4512074.
11. "The Old Denbigh Philharmonic Society". Denbighshire Free Press. 18 November 1905. p. 8. hdl:10107/3772161.
12. "St Asaph". The Rhyl Advertiser. 18 October 1879. p. 3. hdl:10107/3851232.
13. "The Opening of the Vale of Clwyd Railway". The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality. 16 October 1858. p. 4. Retrieved 3 January 2019.
14. "North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways". The Cambrian News and Merionethshire Standard. 10 November 1871. p. 5. hdl:10107/3306647.
15. Howe, Marjorie (2000). Old Rhyl: From 1850s – 1910. Gwasg Helygain. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-95227-554-1.
16. "Death of Mr Townshend Mainwaring". The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality. 29 December 1883. p. 5. hdl:10107/4518403.
17. "Family Notices". Llangollen Advertiser Denbighshire Merionethshire and North Wales Journal. 4 January 1884. p. 3. hdl:10107/3290357.
18. "Funeral of Mr Townshend Mainwaring". The North Wales Chronicle and Advertiser for the Principality. 5 January 1884. p. 4. hdl:10107/4451645.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Townshend Mainwaring

Parliament of the United Kingdom
Preceded by Frederick Richard West	Member of Parliament for Denbigh Boroughs 1857–1868	Succeeded by Watkin Williams
Preceded by Wilson Jones	Member of Parliament for Denbigh Boroughs 1841–1847	Succeeded by Frederick Richard West