George Warren (MP)
Encyclopedia
Sir George Warren KB of Poynton
Lodge in Cheshire
, was a British Member of Parliament
.
Warren set out initially on an army career, being promoted to Captain in 1756. In May 1758 he eloped to Edinburgh
with a rich heiress, Jane Revel (died 1761), and married her; he then retired from the army, and in December of the same year was elected to Parliament as member for Lancaster
in return for a promise that at the next election he would contribute up to £2,000 towards finding a seat for the son of Lancaster's other MP, Francis Reynolds. He immediately began a campaign to have himself made a Knight of the Bath
, an honour to which he believed his new wealth now entitled him, but the King
angrily rejected the proposal when it was put to him by Prime Minister Newcastle
. However, once George III succeeded in 1760, Warren attached himself to Bute's
party and secured his KB the following year.
Warren's rapacious attempts to enlarge his fortune made him unpopular throughout Lancashire and Cheshire. His estates included the manor of Stockport
, and he tried to enforce his feudal rights as the town grew with industrialisation, seeking to establish manorial monopolies on some goods and levy tolls on the importation of others. He also promoted a scheme to run a canal from the River Weaver
near Northwich
to the Mersey
at Stockport, which would have opened a market for the coalfield on his Poynton estate, but Parliament preferred the rival scheme of the Duke of Bridgewater
, which linked Stockport to the Grand Trunk Canal, much less profitable for Warren.
Despite his unpopularity, Warren could not be dislodged from his parliamentary seat at Lancaster, where the influence of Reynolds over the voters was sufficient to ensure his candidate would be returned. In 1768 the local merchants determined to oppose him, putting up Lord John Cavendish
as a candidate, but even the backing of his own influential family
and of the Lowthers
proved insufficient to make victory probable. Early in the campaign, Cavendish wrote that"my opponents...have engaged all the lower sort of people, and they spare no expense to keep them firm to them.", and eventually he concluded that "my opponents were bidding any sums for votes, so that my success was very uncertain and an enormous expense inevitable." He withdrew a week before the election was due, leaving Warren to be returned unopposed.
Waren remained an MP for all but two years until 1796, sitting also for Beaumaris
in one Parliament, but there is no record of his ever having spoken in the House of Commons. He had one daughter by his first marriage, Elizabeth, Viscountess Bulkeley (c. 1760-1826): her husband, Thomas Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley
, changed his surname to Warren-Bulkeley by Royal Licence to inherit the Warren fortune. Warren's second marriage in 1764, to Frances Bishopp, daughter of Sir Cecil Bishopp, 6th Baronet, was childless.
Warren commissioned several portraits of his family from the then-up-and-coming artist, George Romney
, whose group portrait of the family (1769) was one of the pictures that helped make his reputation. A later portrait was of Warren's daughter, Elizabeth, to celebrate her marriage in 1777, Romney depicting her as Hebe
: this picture is now in the National Museum of Wales.
Poynton
Poynton is a town within the civil parish of Poynton-with-Worth, and the unitary authority area of Cheshire East, England. For ceremonial purposes it is part of the county of Cheshire. Poynton is located at the eastern most fringe of the Cheshire Plain, north of Macclesfield, south of Stockport...
Lodge in Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, was a British Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
.
Warren set out initially on an army career, being promoted to Captain in 1756. In May 1758 he eloped to Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
with a rich heiress, Jane Revel (died 1761), and married her; he then retired from the army, and in December of the same year was elected to Parliament as member for Lancaster
Lancaster (UK Parliament constituency)
Lancaster was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of England then of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1867, centred on the historic city of Lancaster in north-west England...
in return for a promise that at the next election he would contribute up to £2,000 towards finding a seat for the son of Lancaster's other MP, Francis Reynolds. He immediately began a campaign to have himself made a Knight of the Bath
Order of the Bath
The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate mediæval ceremony for creating a knight, which involved bathing as one of its elements. The knights so created were known as Knights of the Bath...
, an honour to which he believed his new wealth now entitled him, but the King
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
angrily rejected the proposal when it was put to him by Prime Minister Newcastle
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...
. However, once George III succeeded in 1760, Warren attached himself to Bute's
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute KG, PC , styled Lord Mount Stuart before 1723, was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain under George III, and was arguably the last important favourite in British politics...
party and secured his KB the following year.
Warren's rapacious attempts to enlarge his fortune made him unpopular throughout Lancashire and Cheshire. His estates included the manor of Stockport
Stockport
Stockport is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies on elevated ground southeast of Manchester city centre, at the point where the rivers Goyt and Tame join and create the River Mersey. Stockport is the largest settlement in the metropolitan borough of the same name...
, and he tried to enforce his feudal rights as the town grew with industrialisation, seeking to establish manorial monopolies on some goods and levy tolls on the importation of others. He also promoted a scheme to run a canal from the River Weaver
River Weaver
The River Weaver is a river, navigable in its lower reaches, running in a curving route anti-clockwise across west Cheshire, northern England. Improvements to the river to make it navigable were authorised in 1720 and the work, which included eleven locks, was completed in 1732...
near Northwich
Northwich
Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...
to the Mersey
River Mersey
The River Mersey is a river in North West England. It is around long, stretching from Stockport, Greater Manchester, and ending at Liverpool Bay, Merseyside. For centuries, it formed part of the ancient county divide between Lancashire and Cheshire....
at Stockport, which would have opened a market for the coalfield on his Poynton estate, but Parliament preferred the rival scheme of the Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater
Francis Egerton, 3rd Duke of Bridgewater , known as Lord Francis Egerton until 1748, was a British nobleman, the younger son of the 1st Duke...
, which linked Stockport to the Grand Trunk Canal, much less profitable for Warren.
Despite his unpopularity, Warren could not be dislodged from his parliamentary seat at Lancaster, where the influence of Reynolds over the voters was sufficient to ensure his candidate would be returned. In 1768 the local merchants determined to oppose him, putting up Lord John Cavendish
Lord John Cavendish
Lord John Cavendish PC was a British politician.-Background:Cavendish was the youngest son of William Cavendish, 3rd Duke of Devonshire, and his wife Catherine, daughter of John Hoskins. Prime Minister William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Lord George Cavendish and Field Marshal Lord...
as a candidate, but even the backing of his own influential family
Duke of Devonshire
Duke of Devonshire is a title in the peerage of England held by members of the Cavendish family. This branch of the Cavendish family has been one of the richest and most influential aristocratic families in England since the 16th century, and have been rivalled in political influence perhaps only...
and of the Lowthers
Earl of Lonsdale
Earl of Lonsdale is a title that has been created twice in British history, firstly in the Peerage of Great Britain in 1784 , and then in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1807, both times for members of the Lowther family....
proved insufficient to make victory probable. Early in the campaign, Cavendish wrote that"my opponents...have engaged all the lower sort of people, and they spare no expense to keep them firm to them.", and eventually he concluded that "my opponents were bidding any sums for votes, so that my success was very uncertain and an enormous expense inevitable." He withdrew a week before the election was due, leaving Warren to be returned unopposed.
Waren remained an MP for all but two years until 1796, sitting also for Beaumaris
Beaumaris (UK Parliament constituency)
Beaumaris was a parliamentary borough in Anglesey, which returned one Member of Parliament to the House of Commons of the Parliament of England from 1553, then to the Parliament of Great Britain from 1707 to 1800 and to the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1885, when the constituency...
in one Parliament, but there is no record of his ever having spoken in the House of Commons. He had one daughter by his first marriage, Elizabeth, Viscountess Bulkeley (c. 1760-1826): her husband, Thomas Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley
Thomas Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley
Thomas James Bulkeley, 7th Viscount Bulkeley, later Warren-Bulkeley, was an English aristocrat and politician.-Life:...
, changed his surname to Warren-Bulkeley by Royal Licence to inherit the Warren fortune. Warren's second marriage in 1764, to Frances Bishopp, daughter of Sir Cecil Bishopp, 6th Baronet, was childless.
Warren commissioned several portraits of his family from the then-up-and-coming artist, George Romney
George Romney (painter)
George Romney was an English portrait painter. He was the most fashionable artist of his day, painting many leading society figures - including his artistic muse, Emma Hamilton, mistress of Lord Nelson....
, whose group portrait of the family (1769) was one of the pictures that helped make his reputation. A later portrait was of Warren's daughter, Elizabeth, to celebrate her marriage in 1777, Romney depicting her as Hebe
Hebe (mythology)
In Greek mythology, Hēbē is the goddess of youth . She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles ; her successor was the young Trojan prince Ganymede...
: this picture is now in the National Museum of Wales.